Sundari Gardens Movie Review: Aparna Balamurali and Neeraj Madhav’s Promising Romance Loses Itself in Its Soap-Melodrama Trappings (LatestLY Exclusive)

Sundari Gardens Movie Review: Sundari Gardens, written and directed by Charlie Davis, is a romantic drama starring Aparna Balamurali and Neeraj Madhav in the lead. The movie begins with Victor Paul (Neeraj Madhav) arriving at a school where he is appointed as an English teacher. Suma aka Sundari Miss (Aparna Balamurali) works in the same school as a librarian. She stays with her bedridden mother in a villa nearby whose name lends itself to the movie's title, though it doesn't have much of a role to play in the story. Neeraj Madhav Receives UAE Golden Visa; Actor Shares Pictures on Instagram.

Victor is fascinated with Suma's sharp memory and her devil-may-care attitude, especially how she handles a student's pregnancy scare. Suma also gets interested in Victor after he rescues her from getting hurt in a freak accident, though she has competition in another teacher who is far more upfront about her feelings for Victor. The rest of Sundari Gardens is us getting to know more about Suma as a person and whether the twain shall ever be a couple,

Watch the Trailer:

Sundari Gardens starts off on a very promising note. Victor meeting Suma, the establishing of their characters and the understated manner in which the attraction grows between the duo are all done in a nice manner. Suma's infectious charm complements well with Victor's easy-going nature.

There is a lull, however, when the third romantic angle is involved, and the resultant drama slows down the narrative. Thankfully, things pick up when Victor and Suma reconnect as friends and he gets to know her better. I liked the manner in which they discuss Suma's divorce after a stint of violin-playing, without compromising on the disturbing nature of Suma's past and yet cementing her as a strong fiery woman. The freshness that the first act had, which got lost in between, returns sublimely in this sequence, and both Aparna and Neeraj are wonderful in the scene. OTT Releases of the Week: Akshay Kumar's Cuttputlli on Disney+ Hotstar; Robert Aramayo's The Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime and More!

Sadly, things go downhill when Victor takes Suma as a guest to meet his family. Sundari Gardens hereon opts for a TV serial approach to how certain family members react to the presence of this new lady, and especially to the news that she is divorced. Look, I am not saying that everyone's open-minded about divorces, but the manner in these portions are treated jars big time when you look back at the earlier scenes that were so subtly done. Even the subplot involving Suma's brother and his greedy wife felt kitschily handled. Sundari Gardens fails to pick up from thereon, and the movie towards a predictable ending where matters are easily solved with a few simple conversations.

While the screenplay is disappointing, Sundari Gardens benefits from the performances of its two lead actors, especially Aparna who recently won a National Award for her performance in Soorarai Pottru. Another noteworthy aspect is Alphons Joseph's pleasant score that goes well with the flow, but doesn't have a memorable song. Among the supporting cast, Binu Pappu is notable.

Yay!

- Aparna and Neeraj

- A Couple of Good Scenes

Nay!

- Melodramatic Approach Jars

- Weak Second Half

Final Thoughts

Sundari Gardens begins by enticing you with the warmness of its budding love story, however the fragrance soon loses itself when the narrative opts for a slow-paced, soap operatic approach. Aparna and Neeraj do make it work, but end-result isn't memorable. Sundari Gardens is streaming on SonyLIV.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 02, 2022 08:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).