Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A out on OTT: Visual poetry or overhyped? Audiences divided over Rakshit Shetty’s film

Kannada director Hemanth M Rao is widely seen as a filmmaker who caters to a niche audience. His films are meant for the serious movie-goer who prefers class over mass – that’s the general perception. Sapta Sagaradaache Ello, Hemanth’s two-part ‘intense love story’, also falls in this bracket and when the first, Side A, released on September 1, it got a lot of love from this set of audience, who hailed it visual poetry, while others were not taken in by the predictable story and its slow pace. At the time, the team had only released the Kannada version, with limited shows outside of Karnataka. Much later, on September 22, they brought out a Telugu version, and while it got some positive feedback, the film didn’t work at the box office there. Although leading man and producer Rakshit Shetty had said that he wanted to give the Malayalam version a theatrical release, given that the Kannada original had not gone to the state, today, the film suddenly dropped on OTT in all five languages, negating any further theatrical plans.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A review: Hemanth M Rao's throbbing love story leaves you wanting more 

The OTT debut on Amazon Prime Video came only hours after Rakshit and team had announced that the second part, Side B, was being pushed ahead by a week and rescheduled on October 27 . However, there was no word from the team of the film or from the streamer about Side A’s impending release, surprising subscribers when they got the notification at midnight. Several audiences who had seen the film already jumped at the chance to watch it yet again, while there were also a lot of new audiences, who decided to stream it based on the largely positive word-of-mouth publicity that it has got. Since it began streaming, Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A has had a steady stream of love coming its way, with many writing about the emotional content opening up the waterworks for them. The visuals, music and performances, of course, were being highlighted, just as it was during the theatrical release.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A out on OTT: Too soon? Wonder netizens 

However, there were others who weren’t completely sold on it. “To be honest and frank with opinion director athihaase indha e movie ge sigbekagidhu sikkila yake andre e movie 2 parts necessary irliila ondhe part ali helo vishya na 2 part maadi movie sigbekagidhu feel,appreciation incomplete madsudru(pov). Even I loved the movie but not fully,” wrote one, with another chiming in, “Is there any other film this year that was as over-hyped as this one?” A few have also pointed out that the dubbing quality in the other languages is not great and are urging those who wish to watch the film to do so in the Kannada original version with English subtitles. Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A is about a couple Manu (Rakshit) and Priya (Rukmini Vasanth) and how his decision to make a quick buck to secure their future backfires and takes a toll on their relationship. Side B picks up 10 years after the events of Side A.

Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B: Netizens wonder what happens with Manu and Priya in 2020