Sandeep Kishan’s ‘Super Subbu’ Review – Did they really do Sex Education?

— Surya Prakash Josyula

Subbu (Sandeep Kishan) alias Subramanyam is an average middle-class guy. He lands a temporary job through the recommendation of his father, Kukkuteswara Rao (Muralih Sharma). That job is a computer lab assistant in a school. Now, Subbu’s father, Kukkuteswara Rao (Muralih Sharma), is a retired headmaster. But it is only the job he retired from, not the duty of scolding his son. Every time he looks at his son, he gets a suspicion: “Is there any scolding still left over?”

Now, fate is a very cruel genius. Due to a small, innocent technical mistake made by Subbu during an inspection by the DEO, his temporary chair is pulled away. Now, if he has to escape his father’s ‘tirade of scoldings’, there is only one way: the ‘Sex Education Officer’ job offered by the Department of Social Welfare. Location: Makipuram.

By then, Subbu’s marriage is already fixed with a girl named Divya (Manasa Choudhary). Subbu’s father puts a condition that he will conduct the marriage smoothly only if the job becomes permanent. With no other choice, he sets out for Makipuram half-heartedly.

Now, Makipuram is a strange human laboratory. The people there have achieved the highest ‘Fertility Rate’ in the country and created a record. But the bizarre thing is—uttering the word ‘romance’ or ‘sex’ there is a crime bigger than treason. Meaning, production is happening heavily, but you cannot talk about the process! In such peculiar circumstances, Subbu gets introduced to ‘Swathi’ (Mithila Palkar).

Swathi is a girl from that village. A somewhat lively girl. A girl who understands Subbu. With her by his side, what did Subbu do? How did Subbu teach sex education lessons amidst the superstitions of the villagers? How did he manage to keep his job a secret from his father? Was Subbu able to bring a change among the people of Makipuram? Was he able to eliminate the misconceptions surrounding sex education? To know all this, one must watch the series completely.

Analysis:
“Don’t talk about sex…”

This is the very first lesson our society teaches children from a young age. The irony is… when they grow up, those same children become parents. But that lesson never changes. ‘Super Subbu’ has chosen this very silence as the central conflict of its story.

Looking at this series, it feels like it is about sex education. But if you observe the screenplay… this is not a story of sex education. It is the story of a society that cannot talk about sex. The difference between these two became the strength of the series… and at the same time, its weakness.

Where did the script win?

Generally, there is a rule in every great social comedy. The problem doesn’t lie outside… it lies right inside the hero’s house.

Vicky Donor → Family.
PK → Beliefs.
Panchayat → System.
Super Subbu → The silence inside the house.

The writers made the core problem clear right in the first two episodes. The family Subbu grew up in, his father’s mindset, his natural awkwardness in talking to a girl… all these together make the audience understand his problem even before he goes to the village.

This is a trait of a good screenplay. If the hero has to go out and change the world… he must first have the same problem within himself. In Subbu’s case, that is exactly what happens.

In the first episode, the father changing the channel because he couldn’t even watch a sex education program on TV might look like a small scene… but it sets the theme for the entire series. Telling the theme not through a dialogue… but through a situation, is strong writing in a screenplay.

“The director was scared”

If you watch the first two episodes, the director appears very brave. From the third episode onwards, however, the safe game begins. Because nowhere… could he go deeper into sex education. Instead, he increased the village comedy. After going to Makipuram, the story revolves almost completely around village life, the people there, the troubles Subbu faces with them, and minor incidents in the village.

Meaning… the subject remains merely as a backdrop. The story, however, turns into a village comedy. This is the major flaw in this series.

Did the comedy work?

It was a good decision by the director not to lean into vulgar comedy. Even though there are double-meaning dialogues… they mostly play around with words. They tried to make people laugh using words like computer and pen drive. In some places, it works. In other places, it feels like a forced punchline.

Actually, in this story, the laughter should come from the situations. But in many places, the exaggerated behavior of the characters becomes the basis for comedy. Because of this, the laughter feels written rather than natural.

Which is the best scene in the screenplay?

If there is any memorable scene in this series… it is the scene where the village women ask how baby boys are born. Subbu doesn’t take a science class for them talking about X and Y chromosomes. Taking two flower pots, he says, “The soil is the same… but whatever seed we sow, that is what grows. Then why blame the soil?” There, the writer understood one thing. Education does not mean giving information… it means telling it in a language the person opposite can understand. This is the finest piece of writing in the series.

The scene explaining sanitary pads also falls into the same category. The dialogue, “Why feel ashamed to keep the place clean which is the birthplace of everyone?” comes within the context rather than sounding like a message.

However, such good scenes are very few across the total seven episodes. The questions raised by the director in the first two episodes… do not get equally strong answers from the next five episodes.

Characters are the biggest problem

Except for Subbu’s character, the rest of the characters appear uni-dimensional. Villagers meaning everyone behaving the same way… men meaning everyone having the same thought… characters becoming more of a caricature than natural… because of this, we cannot connect with them emotionally. Laughter comes. But it doesn’t touch the heart.

Why didn’t the climax work?

This story starts from the beginning with the father-son relationship. That is why at the end, what the audience looks forward to is… did the village change? No. Did the father change? But the screenplay did not utilize that emotion completely. If they had shown the journey of the father leaving behind his old thoughts and understanding his son from a new perspective… it would have given more strength to the climax.

Why does it feel like an old story?

The problem in the story is new. But the way of telling it is old. “Hero going to a village… villagers opposing… changing one by one… accepting the hero at the end…”. This is a design we have seen in many stories. That is why even though the concept is fresh… the narrative does not give a new experience.

One Question

If this story was set in a corporate school in Hyderabad instead of a village… would it have worked even better?

Anyway…

This series is not about sex education… it is about the parenting of Indian parents.

For stories made on such social issues to impress the audience, the people must be remembered more than the message. For example, in series like Panchayat, the village is just a backdrop. The real strength is the characters there. Their weaknesses, small desires, and relationships make the audience laugh and move them at the same time.

Similarly, in Vicky Donor, no matter how bold the subject was… the film worked because of the honesty of the characters and the relationships. The message came at the end. The story came first. In ‘Super Subbu’, however, one gets a feeling that at some places the story stops… and the message comes forward.

Can you watch it?

If you watch it casually without thinking too much… it feels good. Since it makes you laugh here and there, chalta hai (it passes). However, it is a bit awkward when watching with families.

Where to watch?

It is available on Netflix in Telugu.

Total 4 Hours (7 Episodes).