'Family Star' Movie Review
Cast: Vijay Deverakonda, Mrunal Thakur, Jagapathi Babu, Rohini Hittangadi, Vasuki, Abhinaya, Ravi Prakash, Raja Chembolu, Ravibabu, Ajay Ghosh, Achyuth Kumar, Vennela Kishore and others.
Music: Gopi Sundar
Cinematography: KU Mohanan
Producer: Raju - Shirish
Writer - Director: Parasuram
After a blockbuster success like 'Geetha Govindham', the duo of Vijay Deverakonda and Parasuram have arrived together once again with 'Family Star'. Produced by Dil Raju, the makers promoted the film heavily and the trailer generated a good response as well. Vijay is suffering with flops and he is hoping that 'Family Star' turns out to be a comeback in his career. Let us dive into the review to find more about the movie.
Story:
Govardhan (Vijay Deverakonda) works day and night for the welfare of his family as it is everything to him. Despite getting married and having kids, his elder brothers are not settled in life which makes Govardhan responsible for everything in the family. He even leaves a girl he likes for them. Indu (Mrunal Thakur) enters the life of Govardhan as a tenant over his house. She gets quite close to his family as well. Govardhan decides to marry her but he gets to know a shocking fact about Indu. What is that? How did Govardhan's life turn due to this? Did he marry Indu at the end? Answers to these questions form the crux of the story.
Analysis:
Parasuram's last film was 'Sarkaru Vaari Paata'. Hero leaves everything behind and comes to India to get his ten thousand dollars from heroine's father. Only he could think of writing such a plot for a big star like Mahesh Babu. Many expect him to take notes and makes sure that he doesn't repeat the same mistakes of his previous film. But 'Family Star' proves to be no different. A multi-national company's CEO decides to write a thesis on middle class people and becomes a tenant in hero's house. She gets impressed by everything hero does and falls for him. Her profession gets mighty impressed after the heroine submits her thesis on middle class families. Knowing about the heroine's motive, hero decides to take revenge on her. While the audience are scratching their heads listening to this, Parasuram managed to convince 'Judgement King' Dil Raju, Mrunal Thakur and Vijay Deverakonda with this script. He should be appreciated for it.
The director wanted to shed light on middle class life and showcase every hard-working person in the family as a hero. This line is highly relatable to the audience as we see such people in every house in our daily lives. The public would have owned this movie if it was narrated properly. But the strength as the start fizzles out later. The whole turning point in the movie lacks depth and fails to connect with the audience. With hero's character being relatable and the family situation connecting to the viewers, the movie runs smoothly till a certain point. It engages the audience but things change after the heroine enters the frame. Calling the hero 'Yevandi' in the very first meet, saying 'Nenu Meeku Padipoya' immediately sounds very strange. We don't understand how she gets impressed by him instantly but the scenes go well with decent entertainment which makes us ignore the logics. The 'thesis' point is where the movie goes off track. Everything that follows after that looks sarcastic.
The scenes around the hero's revenge on the heroine are boring and frustrating as well. It is okay for a scene or two but it continues throughout the second half. The movie is fine till it is in Hyderabad but becomes unbearable after shifting to America. Hero's behavior frustrates not just the heroine but the audience too. The way the hero decides to pimp himself at Times Square is a 'Masterpiece'. It is for entertainment? How did it come out of the editing table? People become hopeless after watching this scene. Every fight looks forced and the villain portions are very artificial. The ending scenes are too heavy to carry on and 'Family Star' which starts as an entertainer turns something else midway and gets completely spoilt. People definitely did not expect this from the hero-director duo that delivered 'Geetha Govindham'.
Performances:
Vijay Deverakonda displayed immense sincerity from his side. His character looks good till a point. He suited the role of a guy who carries the entire responsibility of the family. He carried the film on his shoulders to a certain extent. But he becomes weak as the story becomes thinner. Even he couldn't save the film which went off the track. His look felt good in the movie. Mrunal's character and performance leaves you with mixed feelings. She looks very active and beautiful in the first half but she becomes dull as per the story's requirement in the second half. Her look is quite artificial in certain places. No matter how many times, Jagapathi Babu said that he is vexed with rich dad roles, he is getting the same chances again and again. His character and acting doesn't bring anything new to the table. Vasuki, Abhinaya, Ravi Prakash and Raja Chembrolu as family members are fine. Senior actress Rohini fits the character perfectly. Achyuth Kumar as the villain is quite ordinary. 'Family Star' is one of the very few films where Vennela Kishore couldn't make people laugh.
Technicians:
Gopi Sundar's songs are okay. Though the songs don't sound fresh, they are good to listen to. The placement of songs are bad enough to spoil the flow. The colorful song 'Kalyani Vacha' was used in the rolling titles. But Gopi Sundar disappoints heavily in the background score department. The work during the action sequences tests your patience. The one fight in Ravi Babu's office was severely damaged due to the background score. The re-recording sounds quite non-sync to the actual proceedings. Cinematography by KU Mohanan is wonderful. The production values are okay. Parasuram faltered in terms of writing itself. He fails to impress as a director too. 'Family Star' stands way below in the list of his films. He did not show any seriousness in terms of story and his screenplay lacked logic in a lot of places which made 'Family Star' a completely non-serious film.
Verdict: 'Family Star' - Becomes a Misfire Midway!
Rating: 2.25/5