Pareshan Movie review: Telangana village drama that has a few fun moments

Rana Daggubati has introduced a new Telugu film called "Pareshan," directed by Rupak Ronaldson. The story takes place in Singareni, a village located in Telangana.

Story

Issac (Thiruveer) and his friends are typical jobless youth who waste time boozing around and get scolded by their parents. As if aimlessness was not an issue, Issac faces an unexpected problem that changes his life due to his girlfriend, Shirisha. The movie’s basic plot revolves around the incident and how he overcame it.

Analysis

Rupak Ronaldson writes and directs “Pareshan.” It is a rooted comedy cum drama set in Telangana interiors, the likes of which are coming pretty frequently recently. The movie takes time to get going as the director has a lot of characters to establish. There is a hero, his friends, his gang, and the world around them.

The good thing is the humour present throughout, whether it works as intended or not. It is only after getting to know a lot about the characters and the setting that the actual story kicks in. It is a thin line, but the events around it make it a decent watch.

The interval makes one slightly curious about how the second half will progress. Things change drastically in the second half, as the core issue changes from what was perceived before the interval. The narrative shifts focus, and it is all about money and the struggle for it. The comedy takes a backseat, focusing more on the drama. It would have been fine if things moved that way, provided the drama was intense.

Here the director tries to mix the humour in the proceedings. The seamlessness required for the narrative goes for a toss as a result. The comedy, a couple of blocks do work, seems force-fitted into a dramatic narrative. The organic flow is missing as a result.

The characters, too, feel all over the place, with each one exploding into different sides. The script and drama need extreme focus to bring it all together and not look like a loose cannon. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen here. The boozing culture and nativity touches, like the sequence in the marriage related to non-veg etc., peppered throughout, shows the director knows his terrain. They are presented naturally without any cinematic presentation or degradation of the milieu. But, the problem is, by the end, one hardly cares about what happens to any of the characters, which is the biggest undoing of Pareshan – its biggest failure. There was potential and content in parts, but it hasn’t been brought together to create a substantial impact.

On the whole, Pareshan is a strictly okayish village drama that has a few fun moments here and there. Thiruveer and the entire cast performed well, but the weak storyline and below-par second half brought down the film as a whole. Apart from a few comedy portions, there is nothing great to rave about the film.

Performances

Thiruveer playing the role of Isaac fits the bill perfectly of a wayward, mostly sloshed youth. His unique body language and physique add to the character. As an actor, too, he does well enough to make things work. But, at the same time, he fails to make it a memorable one. In short, Issac is a role that Thiruveer doesn’t spoil, but it doesn’t get elevated by his actions either.

Pavani Karanam is okay. She has a few moments in the first half that work with the lead. However, she goes missing for the most part in the second half. Also, the naturality required to make things work is missing in emotional scenes which generates fun. Muralidhar Goud seems to have become a must in Telangana-setting movies. He plays a strict father neatly, but we have seen him do the same before in varying degrees. The cast playing the friends is alright. They do well in the situations, but none stand out among the crowd.

Technicalities

Rupak Ronaldson, he did a passable job with the film. In an attempt to provide an out-and-out comedy entertainer, he didn’t focus much on the plot and emotions. Also, a few comedy portions do irritate. The final output would have been much better had the director worked more on the second half.

Yashwanth Nag’s music is a weak link in the film. The songs don’t work and are a dampener. The background score is alright, though. Vasu Pendem’s cinematography is decent, considering the low budget and setting at hand. The editing gives a messy feel to the movie at times. It should have been much better as the director, Rupak Ronaldson, is involved along with Hari Shankar TN.

Highlights

Humour in parts

First half

Drawbacks

Uneven tone

Second half

Weak audio