Thimmarajupalli TV Review

Kiran Abbavaram is one actor who is slowly making a name for himself in the industry. He has turned solo producer for a small film, Thimmarajupalli TV introducing around 40 newcomers. He went extra mile to promote the film aggressively and also to give them the visibility to make more of their Big Opportunity.

What is the Movie About?

Thimmarajupalli TV is set in those years which are the early days of TV coming in India. The People of Thimmarajupalli do not have TV in a Single Household. For them, TV watching is only about a Rented TV that is brought for festivals and is watched by the entire village together. One of the Villagers buy a TV with his dowry money and the entire village is in his home to watch it all day. The rest is all about the troubles the TV brings and what happens when one day it suddenly goes missing.

Performances:

Thimmarajupalli TV has Hero and Heroine identified for namesake but there is no hero or heroine in the movie. It is a story where there are only characters. There are bunch of characters who have equally important weightage. All of them did a good job.

Sai Tej plays Hero. Pradeep plays Parallel lead. Vedha Jalandhar and Swathi Reddy plays the Heroines. All four of them did their part well. Vedha Jalandhar, at places, looked like Sanghavi in Sindooram. Rest of the Supporting Cast are all good. We can see all the characters using Rayalaseema Slang in the film and it is authentic. Probably the fact that many of them are from Theater background also helped in bring naturality and believability in the proceedings.

Technicalities:

Thimmarajupalli TV is a small film made on a limited budget. It is completely shot in Thimmarajupalli village in Rayalaseema. Every location is authentic and rooted. It takes us to those times which means impressive Production Design. The Cinematography should also get credit for that.

Music by Vamsi Kanth is very good. The songs may not work as Standalone but they work well in the Proceedings and do not disturb the flow. The Background Score worked well in some sequences.

Writer cum Director Muniraju selected a Good but thin line for the Story. The idea is to stir Nostalgia for those of 90s using the early days of TV. He partly succeeded as he faltered in executing the whodunnit portions effectively. The Production Values by Kiran Abbavaram are apt to the Premise they have chosen.

Positives:

The Basic Premise
Performances
Authentic Locations
Good Music

Negatives:

Editing
Not So Good Whodunnit Drama

Analysis:

Malayalam film industry is known for coming up with films with wafer-thin intriguing conceits but they do magic with very effective handling. They focus more on depth in the characterisations and drama and in the process, most of those films end up becoming effectively made slow-burn dramas. Most of our audience watch Malayalam films on OTT platforms and even before watching the movie, we fine-tune out mind to be ready for a slow-burn.

When our filmmakers attempt such films in Telugu, the first thought they may get is if our audience accept them or will they be able to sit through the slow drama. Thimmarajupalli TV is akin of Malayalam dramas but the director Muniraju seems to have feared if the audience will sit through the film.

We can clearly see the movie underwent heavy Chopping to make it crisp. The movie starts very well taking us to the village ambience and complexities of the people there. The TV element is beautifully introduced. The elements of Balakrishna, Chiranjeevi, and Venkatesh are neatly embedded to cheer the auditorium. But then, the first half finishes in less than One Hour maybe because of that chopping.

That may be a wrong calculation. These portions should have been a bit more for the audience to indulge and experience. But that is not a big problem. When you aim to break boundaries, you have to make some courageous decisions. The makers played it safe here.

The second half turns into a whodunnit drama about the missing TV. This is where the director faltered. The Pain of the Hero and Heroines is not deeply explored. The Proceedings take a Template approach – creating doubts on many but finally locking on someone unexpected. Usually, that’s how whodunnit works and that is the Formula. But it is for the filmmakers to make sure that it is not so obvious to the audience. Thimmarajupalli TV second half does exactly the same. The climax twist is landed artificially.

That said, it is not a film like something we can brush it off. We can feel there is intent and honest attempt all over it. The TV Portions and the Village Setup are definitely a novel experience. You can try it once even with these issues to experience the Premise and attempt.

Bottomline: – Appreciable Attempt

Rating: 2.5/5