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Papam Prathap

Movie Review: ‘Papam Prathap’

Cast: Thiruveer, Payal Radhakrishna, Rashi, Ajay Ghosh, Raghu Babu, Goparaju Ramana, Devi Prasad, Roopa Lakshmi, Prasad Behera, Ravi Anthony, Ananth, and others.

Music: K.M. Radha Krishnan

Background Score: Suresh Bobbili

Cinematography: Visweswar

Producers: Gaddam Rakesh Reddy, Rudradev Madireddy

Writing & Direction: S.P. Durga Naresh

In a short span, Thiruveer scored brownie points as an actor. However, as a leading man in a film, he’s been waiting for the right break for some time. Though ‘The Great Pre-Wedding Show’ has won critical acclaim, it didn’t get enough collections. Will the hero’s latest movie, ‘Papam Prathap’ give him that much-needed commercial break? Let’s have a look.

STORY:

Pratap (Thiruveer) hails from a village in the Andhra region and gets married to his childhood love, Bujjamma (Payal Radhakrishna). While Pratap’s father never liked this match, his mother got him married. Even Bujjamma loves Pratap a lot, but just days after marriage, she dumps him, without revealing a reason. She accuses Pratap of having an issue, and only if he could resolve it, she would return to his life. What’s that problem Pratap has, and what’s the reason behind it? Did he solve his issue and win his wife back, or not? That's the rest of the film.

NARRATIVE-ANALYSIS:

Some stories seem to be very exciting at an idea-level, but only if they are packaged by a meaningful story, sequences, and narrative, they click. Otherwise, if they get excited by the idea and just package it with routine stuff around it, the result won’t be encouraging. That’s what happened with ‘Papam Prathap’. Even though he has done only a small number of films, Thiruveer gained recognition for choosing distinctive subjects for his films. The story of Papam Prathap also falls in the same category. He might have got excited after hearing the narration, but after watching the film, one feels that maybe they have made some short-film-length content into a feature-length movie. Though the trailer that speaks about the hero’s issue, and the promotions that were centered around it are intriguing, the inability to present that issue on the silver screen in an engaging manner is a bit disappointing.

Adding some health ailment or a disease to the hero, and cooking a story laced with comedy around it, is a trend popularised by Maruthi in Telugu films. Movies like Bhale Bhale Magadivoyi and Mahanubhavudu fall in this category, and Maruthi entertained the audience quite well through them. At the same time, young director Karthik Rapolu also created an impact with Ek Mini Katha, which falls in a similar category. And now, director Durga Naresh also took a similar health issue, and tried to churn out emotions around it, saying that he carved this story based on real incidents. Though he showcased his abilities to create drama, comedy, and engaging scene flow to an extent, the writer-director Durga Naresh failed to spread laughter throughout. Even the emotional quotient is flawed.

Especially in Paapam Pratap, the sequence where this ‘health issue’ gets unravelled is interesting. Similarly, the closure to the issue and the solution shown to us is also engaging. However, only if these two sequences get interesting will that do the job? The rest of the movie should also engage, entertain, and emotionalise the audience. While the idea of Papam Prathap is exciting, some sequences are interesting, the whole film doesn’t give a satisfying feeling.

PERFORMANCES:

Moulding himself in any role offered to him, Thiruveer tries to do 100% justice to the character. He tried the same in Paapam Pratap also. As a husband who loves his wife deeply, and as a person facing an internal conflict when his wife faces a problem, he is aptly portrayed by him. He portrayed both innocence and helplessness efficiently, moving the audience in some scenes. Heroine Payal Radhakrsihna also impressed. However, despite being a crucial character, the small length and scope of her role is confusing. Her role should have been expanded. Senior actress Raashi impresses as the hero’s mother, while Ajay Ghosh goes over the top as the father. Goparaju Ramana is also over the top, while Raghu Babu is okayish. Devi Prasad and Roopa Lakshmi are a right fit for the roles, while Prasad Behara isn’t given enough space.

TECHICALITIES:

Papam Prathap scores on the technical front too, with the composer KM Radha Krishnan, known for Anand and Godavari movies, giving a right re-entry after a long gap through this film. The song Pilla ekkadundi, and another one sung by SP Charan, are musically superb. Suresh Bobbil’s background score is also interesting. Cinematographer Vishweswar captured the village vibe quite well. Production values are also good. Writer-director Durga Naresh should be appreciated for trying to make a different movie, but his narration should have been impactful. He gave a feeling of a small story elongated to a large length, adding too much unrealistic substance.

Finally: Papam Prathap, A good idea, but…

Rating: 2.5/5