Skylab - looking up

 

Skylab

(2021, Telugu)

Writer/Director - Viswak Khanderao

Stars - Nithya Menen, Satyadev, Rahul Ramakrishna, Thanikella Bharani

Mohan's Measure ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

It was 1979 when America's dream experiment, Skylab, came hurtling to earth at top speed.  The fear of it hitting South Asia brought worry, sadness, and fatalistic acceptance to millions, especially the residents of small villages and hamlets, who had little access to the news.

Mr. Viswak however, cleverly uses this incident as a backdrop to present us with a beautifully told comedy that contains a thought-provoking philosophical message.

While the three lead stars are the protagonists, the director carefully weaves together each and every character in to this little village story to create a montage of ideas and emotions. Like the village itself, the movie is about the community, the culture, the rivalries, even the superstitions that makes this little town what it is  All of this, in some way, is going to make the three protagonists understand what really matters.

All of this is told in a way which is so funny and believable, expatriates will recognize their own small towns back home.  

I applaud Mr. Viswak for the beautiful and realistic village scenery, as well as the use of the camera in capturing the facial expressions and unspoken emotion of the leads.  Particularly impressive is Ms. Menen, who goes from stuck up city girl with her expensive pens to old-style journalist with a beaten up typewriter.  The transformation is obvious, but not melodramatic.

Indeed, one of the many reasons to like Skylab is that it is so understated.  There is no room even for panic among the citizens, only a fear dispelled by curiosity, a doubt dispelled by faith.

Such emotional subtleties brought to the screen melt our heart, in expressing quite well that life is not in its tragedy, but in the fact we are in it to face it together.