Starring: Rajkumar Rao, Jyothika, Alaya F, Sharad Kelkar
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
From the very opening sequence of the film, we understand that the main struggle of Srikanth’s (Rao) life is to break free of the lingering shadow of his visual impairment. Throughout the film, he wishes to be known for his ability and not his disability and fearlessly stands up to discrimination whether it is at school or at court.
Supported by his teacher Devika (Jyothika) - who puts her own job at risk to teach Srikanth – Srikanth creates history by winning the case to allow him to study science beyond 10th grade, which was previously prohibited to the visually impaired. Fuelled by will-power and ambition, Srikanth continues to achieve personal success in various avenues - whether it be in being picked for India in blind cricket or achieving a scholarship at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and in doing so becoming its first visually impaired student.
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The second half of the film centres on Srikanth’s return to India and his entry into business and the founding of Bollant Industries – an ecofriendly paper product manufacturing company. He does this with the help and investment of Ravi Mantha (Sharad Kelkar) who is an enduring support for Srikanth alongside Devika. We also see the development of the love story of Srikanth and Swathi (Alaya F) which provides a nice balance to the heavy corporate and political backdrop. Each obstacle is crossed in turn and Srikanth’s character progression becomes the backbone of the latter section of the film.
One of the majorly successful scenes the film is when a young Srikanth stands up and announces in front of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam (Jameel Khan) and other members of the Lead India movement that he wishes to be India’s first visually impaired president. This really shows the clarity and determination of his character.
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Rao’s performance as a blind man is convincing throughout and aptly portrays the confidence and self-belief of Srikanth. Jyotika and Kelkar’s supporting performances are also hugely commendable and add to the emotional depth of the film with Alaya F providing a warming presence to the screen in her slightly more limited role.
All in all, carried by stellar acting and rooted in an emotional journey, ‘Srikanth’ steers clear of excess to tell us the story of Srikanth Bolla in an inspiring and heart-warming manner. It teaches us to not focus on the setbacks or the minuses but to instead believe in your ability because when you do, the aspirations become achievable.
