Audiences are divided about Hemanth M Rao's two-part story, the second of which, Side B, released in theaters on November 17
Last Updated: 02.32 PM, Nov 18, 2023
Filmmaker Hemanth M Rao’s Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side B officially released on November 17, although the film had over 70+ premiere shows the previous evening. Late on November 16 and early November 17, much of the narrative on social media came from hardcore fans of the filmmaker, lead actors Rakshit Shetty and Rukmini Vasanth and, of course, those who liked Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A. There were also those dying to know what would become of the characters, Manu and Priya, when the story picks up in Side B, 10 years after the events of the first film.
While Sapta Sagaradaache Ello Side A was more about Priya’s love for Manu, Side B flipped the coin and focused on the extends he would go for her. At nearly two and a half hours run-time, the second instalment of the ‘intense love story’ evoked mixed response from other, more neutral audiences. Several of them actually felt that Side A was better than Side B, while another segment said that Hemanth should have stuck with keeping it as one film of about 3 hours length. The team had been promoting Side B as the more intense part of the story, but what unfolded on the big screen was far from that. About 90% of the narrative focused on Manu trying to make Priya’s life better, without her knowing of his machinations, for which he enlists everyone around him, including former jailmate Prakasha (Gopalkrishna Deshpande), Priya’s now grown-up brother Vinodha (Bharath GB) and even her husband Deepak (JP Thuminad).
In fact, a lot of Manu’s actions had audiences chuckling in theatres. What everyone thought would also be about Manu exacting vengeance on those who irrevocably changed the course of his life, had barely any revenge drama. Even the action block unfolds only because of a standard story-telling trope of a villain using a woman to get at the protagonist. All of this put together had several audiences rooting for Side A as the better of the lot, as it evoked strong emotions and had great chemistry between the lead pair, making them everyone’s favourite couple.