This week’s new release, ‘Pravarakhyudu’ starring Jagapathi Babu and Priyamani is the duo’s second film after ‘Pellaina Kothalo’. Like the earlier film, ‘Pravarahyudu’ too is a romantic family entertainer and it has all the ingredients for a good love story. Directed by Madan, the film has been produced by Ganesh Indukuri under ‘Tolly2Holly Films’ banner. ‘Pravarakhyudu’ means a perfectionist who attracts women without any effort and the film is the story of this perfectionist who eventually falls in love.

What is it about : Jagapathi Babu stars as Sasi, a Zoology expert who continues his research in India after a brief stint as a professor in Harvard University. His family looks for a bride for Sasi but he rejects most of them. One day, his friend Ravi (Sunil) reminds him about his estranged girlfriend, Sailaja (Priyamani) who used to be his college sweetheart. Who is Sailaja? How did Sasi and Sailaja meet and what happened after that? This forms the rest of the story.

What is Good: Madan, the director of the film, also penned the story, dialogues and screenplay. The first half of the film establishes the lead characters especially that of Sasi (Jagapathi Babu) and Sailaja (Priyamani) pretty well. Sasi is extremely smart and his practical approach to life shocks and at the same time confuses Sailaja. At the same time, Sailaja realizes that she has fallen in love with Sasi, only problem being the duo’s interpretation of love differs a lot from each other. A story like this tends to be predictable, but Madan does extremely well in penning some clever lines and scenes. Check out that scene where Sasi explains Sailaja about the surroundings of the temple. It gives a great insight into Sasi’s character. This kind of role is a cake walk for Jagapathi Babu, who has done plenty of family-oriented films. Priyamani delivers yet another confident performance. Her characterization gets better in the second half. Madan etches her role with a lot of anger as well as ego and she excels in that. Sunil and AVS do well in their small roles. Brahmanandam makes his presence felt again with his sensible comedy. Hamsanandini is good in her glamorous role. Madhu Sharma is alright. The girl who played the role of Padmaja (one of the students in college) is very good and probably we will see her in more films in the future.

What is bad: The second half of ‘Pravarakhyudu’ starts on a promising note. The initial scenes are well written, but after a point the story tends to drag. Sasi and Sailaja take too long to resolve their differences and it sort of tests your patience. Ali is completely wasted in the film. The entire episode of South African safari could have been avoided. The climax of the film certainly justifies Sasi’s quirky behaviour but there’s too much of melodrama. Probably this is the problem with such stories, you know exactly how the story will end and you expect the end to happen quickly.

Technical Departments: Keeravani’s music is a major asset to the movie. It ranges from being melodious to foot tapping beats and all the songs are pleasant on your ears. Chaitanya Prasad’s lyrics are good. ‘Bangaram’ and ‘Gaalamesi’ songs are pretty good. Surendar Reddy’s cinematography is alright. M.R.Varma’s editing is good in first half and it could have been better in second half. Madan does well in almost all the departments. The conflict point between the lead characters is well established and it is resolved pretty well in the end. Screenplay could have been better in second half especially after Sailaja realizes that she does like Sasi.

Bottomline: ‘Pravarakhyudu’ is good film with its heart at the right place. It also teaches a lesson or two about freedom and living life responsibly. While it’s difficult to see Jagapathi Babu as a college student, he does well with his dialogues and subtle charm. Priyamani, on the other hand, is good throughout the film and her anger towards Jagapathi Babu is completely justified. The basic premise of the film that love exists faces some stiff competition from another theory that love is a result of secretion of excess testosterone and estrogen. In the end love defeats science and it predictably leaves a smile on your face! Thumbs up for Madan, Jagapathi Babu, Priyamani and Keeravani. There’s ample comedy, sensible dialogues and logic in this predictable story. ‘Pravarakhyudu’ may not be a perfect film, but it treats you with respect and avoids a lot of clichés that usually come with family entertainers