What’s “Family Star” about?
A young man from the middle class, Govardhan (Vijay Deverakonda) handles all financial responsibilities for his joint family, which consists of two brothers, their spouses, kids, and a grandmother. As an architect, Govardhan meticulously assesses all expenses before making any purchases. In addition, he experiences remorse for the fact that his brother (Ravi Prakash), who aspired to become an IAS officer but was unsuccessful, developed alcoholism as a result of one of his previous actions.
An anthropology student at Hyderabad University named Indu (Mrunal Thakur) rents the top floor of his house and quickly becomes his girlfriend. However, the unexpected turn of events occurs when he unintentionally discovers that she was not genuinely in love with him, but rather pretended to be in order to write a thesis about him.
What is her motivation for choosing to write a thesis about him? Was her affection for him a fake or did she genuinely love him? What occurs when Govardhan attempts to impart a lesson and what other surprises await him?
Analysis
The plot of Parasuram’s “Family Star” is neither novel nor compelling enough to keep viewers’ interest throughout the film’s runtime of two hours and forty minutes. When the core story lacks novelty or sufficient appeal, many directors attempt to present it in an engaging manner with added comedic elements. Parasuram resorted to this method in his earlier collaboration with Vijay Deverakonda, “Geetha Govindam,” which achieved tremendous success as a blockbuster.
“Family Star” bears similarities to films like as “Gang Leader,” “Budget Padmnabham,” and Petla’s own “Geetha Govindam,” but it is devoid of the engaging narration of those works.
The director, Parasuram Petla, has concentrated more on portraying Vijay Deverakonda as the star of the family—someone who goes above and beyond to save or defend them—while also portraying him as a middle-class, frugal person. Parasuram has well accomplished the task of writing characterisation for the protagonist but his narrative doesn’t cover much ground beyond that. The lack of substance in his writing becomes irritating as the movie progresses.
With the exception of the pre-interval scenes and the interval twist, the entire drama looks contrived. Although the intermission twist creates the appropriate mood for us to engage in the second half, the prolonged track in the United States is replete with embarrassing scenes, such as some American girls mistaking him for a gigolo working in Times Square, New York. It is perplexing to contemplate how Parasuram envisioned such a scene, and how Vijay Deverakonda and producer Dil Raju consented to its inclusion in the film.
The primary issue with this film is its inability in providing entertainment and it fails in conveying emotional depth. This narrative may have been improved if Parasuram incorporated more humorous components and edited it more succinctly. Why would you involve Vennela Kishore, a top comedian, if you’re not going to include any comedic parts in the script?
Still, the film has some nice moments – like initial romance between the lead pair, the interval twist, and Mrunal’s convocation episode.
Vijay Deverakonda’s performance exhibits a significant level of maturity. As usual, he excels at displaying both nuanced emotions and aggression. Vijay Deverakonda has provided a convincing performance as a man who will stop at nothing to protect and sacrifice all for his family. The film is held by his captivating screen presence and engaging demeanor.
Mrunal Thakur’s performance is satisfactory. Mrunal performs well in the part of the compassionate rich girl Indu. However, her role in the second half of the movie is little. Jagapathi Babu and Vennela Kishore are not given much significance. Achyuth Kumar’s character likewise lacks importance. Rohini Hattangadi’s portrayal of Vijay’s grandmother adds value to the movie.
Parasuram Petla has earlier extracted the best music from Gopi Sundar in “Geetha Govindam” and the lilting songs were the main reason for its massive success. But the same cannot be said for this film. Although Gopi Sundar has given two catchy numbers – “Nandanandana” and “Kalyani Vacha Vachcha”, this film has only the former in the story. The other song “Kalyani” is added in the end. KU Mohanan’s imaginative frames have provided coolness to the film at many places.
As a writer and director Parasuram shows little command this time and his emotional dialogues are more preachy. The film has an excessively long length and plodding narrative; the editing should have been sharper. The production’s design and values are classy.
Bottom line: “Family Star” draws in us in the first half with its enthralling romance between the lead pair and a well-executed plot twist at the interval. But the slow-paced narrative and excessively lengthy runtime in the second half undo everything. It becomes completely depleted in the end and a dull show.
Rating: 2.5/5
By: Jalapathy Gudelli
Film: Family Star
Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Mrunal Thakur, Vennela Kishore, Jagapathi Babu, and others
Music Director: Gopi Sundar
DOP: KU Mohanan
Art Director: AS Prakash
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Creative Producer: Vasu Varma
Producers: Dil Raju – Shirish
Written and Directed by: Parasuram Petla
Release Date: April 5, 2024
