Pallaburusu Movie Review

After backing several content-driven films, Annapurna Studios returns with Pallaburusu. Directed by debutant Uday Chauhan, the film has Sudhakar Reddy, Muralidhar Goud, Prajwal Yadma, and Gomathy in key roles. With music by Pawan Ch and camera by Vinod K. Bangari, the movie has been released on a low-key note. Read our review here.

Plot:

Shambu(Sudhakar Reddy), an elderly villager, is advised by a doctor to use a toothbrush instead of traditional neem sticks after suffering from a toothache. He asks his son Tirupati(Muralidhar Goud), a railway gatekeeper, to buy him a toothbrush and medicines. Though Tirupati purchases them, the toothbrush goes missing amid his daughter’s marriage proposal arrangements. Hurt by his son’s neglect and the fact that important family matters are hidden from him, Shambhu files a case against Tirupati under the Maintenance Act, claiming that his son failed to provide him with a toothbrush. What follows and who wins the legal battle is the basic story.

Performances:

Pallaburusu is set in the heartland of Telangana and features the popular local artist Sudhakar Reddy. He plays Shambu, a neglected old man who is worried about aging. Firstly, Sudhakar Reddy of Balagam fame is a perfect fit for the role and delivers a sincere performance. He emotes well and is very good in all the emotional scenes. The happening Muralidhar Goud plays Tirupathi and is also cast well in the setup. But sadly, his character is not developed properly, and this limits Muralidhar’s scope for performance. Though he plays a young person in age, the way he performs as the son who neglects his father is good. Prajwal Yadma and Gomaty Reddy are okay in their roles.

Technical Aspects:

Pawan CH has composed the music, and he has done a good job with the album. Two songs in particular have been composed well and gel nicely into the setup. As the film is made on a shoestring budget, there is not much to talk about. The production design does well to showcase the village setup naturally. However, the screenplay of the film is low-key. There are no special moments that stand out. The film runs on a simple thread and only clicks in the climax portions. The dialogues are good, but the lyrics are quite meaningful.

Positives:

Sudhakar Reddy’s performance
Climax

Negatives:

Dull screenplay
Sub plots
Too much deviation

Analysis:

Pallaburusu is written and directed by Uday Chauhan. His central idea of an elderly man taking his son to court for neglecting him is a great idea on paper. But sadly, this narrative is not that great, as it misses key emotional highs in the film. Pallaburusu could have been a very moving film based on aging, but it turns into routine fare with a lack of cinematic highs.

There are not many standout moments that impress and strike you hard. Though there is humor, the film does not have a proper reasoning of why the son is behaving in such a way towards his father. That is where Muralidhar Goud’s role is dull, and a better character arc would have changed things a lot, but sadly that does not happen. The legal track is handled well, though, and there are some great moments when this track is executed.

But the manner in which the director conveyed his point in the climax was very good. The touching moments and the reasoning the makers gave when dealing with aging were quite good. Apart from the main thread, there is also a love story which does not land properly. There is no proper romance or fun generated through this track, and it feels lethargic. Also, the fun generated through the elderly people and other characters also bores you.

The director had a great point, and if he had narrated the film in a serious tone, there would have been a lot of scope for drama. But the way subplots are added deviates from the conflict and makes things boring. In a nutshell, the basic idea of the film is good and has a few endearing moments that click. Had the screenplay and emotional thread been even more serious, the output would have been a lot better. But Pallaburusu falls somewhere in between.

Bottomline: Good idea, Dull narration

Rating: 2/5