Family values are the strength of India. And it is also the strength of Indian films.
Sankranthi is as good an example as you can get. The film is all about the bondage between four brothers despite the pulls and pressures from various quarters including from their wives. Sankranthi is, in a sense, a tribute to the family tradition.
The film obviously revolves around Venkatesh who plays the eldest of four brothers. His family also revolves around him.
Raghavendra (Venkatesh), Vishnu (Srikanth), Chinna (Siva Balaji) and Vamsi (Sarvanand) are the four brothers. The bond of affection and love between them is overpowering and all conquering.
Raghavendra falls in love with Anjali (Aarti Agarwal). But he loses all his wealth and hence his proposed marriage comes unstuck. Anjali's parents would want no truck with a indigent family.
Raghavendra is a chastened man after that. He vows that he will get married only after making some wealth in life. He and his brothers put their shoulders to the wheel earnestly and come up in life. Though he is reluctant for a marriage, his family insists that he should tie the knot. So they choose a comely and responsible girl (Sneha). Life goes on smoothly, till Vishnu gets to marry Anjali's sister (Sangeetha).
The latter is a shrewish girl who is hell bent on creating trouble in the family.
There is increasing strain on the family because of this. Then one of the younger brother also falls in love. That girl's family is also up to some mischief.But the family holds tight and weathers all storms.
Venkatesh shoulders all the burden of the family and his role manfully. Though the role has shades of his own Suryhavamsham, Venkatesh proves that he is the man for such mushy roles.
But the man who walks with all the plaudits is Srikanth. It is a tailor-made character for him. He just revels in it, underplaying it with finesse. Siva Balaji and Sarvanand have also performed adequately.
Among the starlets, Sneha, Aarti, Sangeetha have all got equal opportunities. Sneha is understanding, Arti is appealing while Sangeetha turns in another good performance after Sivaputrudu. Rathi has also a decent role to play. Sharada and Prakash Raj just amble through their roles. The comedy track of Venu Madhav is worth a few laughs.
Though there is no technical gloss in the film, there can also be no complaints. The music of S A Rajkumar is on expected lines. the direction of Muppalaneni Siva is also of good standard. he gives all the characters good scope, and they have also not let him down.
All told, you feel all at home, in more ways than one.
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