Writer and Director: Dushyanth Katikineni
Cast: Suhas, Saranya Pradeep, Jagadeesh Prathap Bandari, Shivani
Available in: Theatres
Duration: 132 minutes
Mild spoliers ahead…
When you hear the title Ambajipeta Marriage Band, you imagine a certain kind of film. This is not that film at all. Halfway through, I wondered why the film is titled after the band — comprising members of a socially backward community — that accompanies every event, from marriages to funerals, in a village. Sure, our protagonist Malli (Suhas), is a barber who moonlights as a drummer in the titular band. However, for the most part of the first half, the utility of the band in the film’s narrative doesn’t go beyond the functional set-up and serves only as a device to briefly elicit some humour. It is in the second half where it all comes together. Seeing the band evolve into a character itself, and what it later goes on to stand, is a fascinating journey, one with an innate sense of practicality that gives its characters an edge over films that have explored oppression in the past. It’s also this practicality that stops the film, which is based on real incidents, from being a modern update on the revenge films of the ‘80s.
So what is this practicality that I’m going on and on about? Keeping reality aside, when a character in a film is placed in a situation that we have seen a thousand times in the past, there is a pre-defined way in which they react. Let’s say, if the hero’s love interest is about to get married to ‘the other guy’, you know what the lover would do. In AMB, however, the action of the lead character in a similar situation is subverted and it’s a choice that directly stems from the identity and background of the character. You might be expecting something cinematic to happen but it doesn’t, because reality is pretty grim and there are no last-second saviours or miracles like in films. Even an enraged Malli (Suhas) reminds his equally furious friend to control his anger because there will be consequences to their actions, even if it’s the film’s climax. AMB keeps subtly pointing you to the line that separates reality and films.