Most people in India know the story of Savitri. She follows Yama, the god of death, and argues until he gives back the life of her husband, Satyavan. In that story she chose him, and her devotion is the whole point. Director Praveen S Vijay keeps the names but changes the set-up. His Savithiri never wanted the marriage at all, and she still ends up fighting to save her husband's life.
That change is the centre of the trailer for Sathyavan Savithiri, a courtroom drama starring Keerthy Suresh and filmmaker Mysskin. It came out on Friday. Drumsticks Productions, which is producing the film, posted it with the line: "Every case has two sides. But only one truth. TRAILER OUT NOW. #SathyavanSavithiri in theatres from November 20."
Early in the trailer, Savithiri tells her prospective groom plainly that she is not interested in marrying him. Her parents push the wedding through anyway. Then the story turns to the case. An NRI woman, Veronica, is found murdered, and the evidence points at Savithiri's husband.
This is where the title starts to make sense. Savithiri is a lawyer, and she is stuck in a marriage she didn't choose, yet the trailer shows her set on defending her husband. On the other side is Markandeyan, her former boss, played by Mysskin. The trailer makes clear that he will stop at nothing to win. So the courtroom fight is also a fight between a student and her mentor, and the trailer leans on that from the first scene to the last.
For Keerthy Suresh, it is a chance to play a woman who is both wronged and strong. Her character is caught between what her family expects and what her job demands. The courtroom genre suits that kind of performance, because so much of it rests on close-ups and long arguments. Casting Mysskin, who is better known as a director with a dark, moody style, as her opponent gives the face-off an edge.
From Delay to Date: The Road to November 20
The film had a bumpy run-up. It was first set to release on July 24, but the makers moved it to November 20. They first showed the film's look in May, with two posters. The first had Keerthy turning to look back while the lawyers around her faced forward. It carried the caption: "Calm face. Unstoppable force. Now it's her game... Presenting the First Look of #SathyavanSavithiri."
Looking back, the poster gave a hint of the story: a woman going against the people around her, both in court and in her own life.
The cast also includes Heartbeat Charukesh, Balasaravanan, Madhusudhanan, Shilpa Manjunath, R Sundararajan, Brigida, Mala Parvathi and A Venkatesh, among others. Arul Vincent handles the cinematography, Sam C S has composed the music and Prasanna G K is the editor.
The film arrives at a time when Tamil audiences have shown they like courtroom dramas that deal with social issues. Sathyavan Savithiri is aiming for that space. The open question is whether the film can hold together two ideas: that the marriage was forced on Savithiri, and that she still chooses to save her husband. Audiences will find out on November 20.
