One of the abiding mysteries of filmdom is why directors never get out of the sentiment trap. To be sure, some of our better films have been about family drama. But that does not mean every second film has to be on an extremely do-gooder ranged against scheming relatives.
After watching Parchuri Murali's Pedababdu, the feeling that hits one in the face is: 'Oh! Not again'. What more, in the name of family drama many typecast retrograde ideas are innocuously passed on.
Loosely based on a Tamil movie (Pasumpon), Pedababu is about young boy's hatred for his mother as she re-marries after his father's death.
As it happens, the eponymous hero Pedababu (Jagapathi Babu) loves his step-brothers and sisters. He also falls in love with one of his cousins Neelaveni (Kalyani).Pedababu also has no love lost for his stepfather (Sarath Babu). The only person that Pedababu has lot of respect for is his maternal grandfather (K Vishwanath).Pedababu's mother (Suhasini) pines for his son's affection but does not get it.
Interwoven into the tapestry of emotions is the weave of villainy of some relatives (Kota Sreenivasa Rao and Ponnambalam). Then there are also comic capers in the form of Neelveni's brother Bapineedu (Sunil).
The film's denouement is all about how Pedababu tides over the shenanigans of the villains, saves his stepsiblings and shows affection to his mother and stepfather.
The treacle-soaked story tires you many times and only the comedy track (even if forced) of Sunil stops the film from being a total dragging bore.
On the acting front, Jagapathi Babu's acting passes muster, but he does not have the stature to carry such a larger-than-life character on his shoulder. The gamine charm of Kalyani works only in certain places, beyond that it is run of the mill stuff.Suhasini, Sarath Babu and Viswanath add dignity to their roles. But they are hamstrung by a weake script and weaker characterization. Kota Sreenivasa Rao and Ponnambalam go through the motions of card-board villains.Sunil's peppy comedy comes as a whiff of fresh air in a stuffy room.
Music of Chakri is nothing new, so is the case with Parchuri Murali's direction.
It is beaten track stuff. But, strangely, it is also direction-less.
The Tamil original (directed by Bharathiraja with Sivaji Ganesan and Prabhu) did not do well. So it is surprising that a failure should be remade in Telugu.
A case of hope triumphing
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