Review: ‘Balgam’ – A Heartwarming Village Story

‘Balgam’ is a directorial debut for comedian Venu, who has successfully captured the essence of a Telangana village with this emotional drama. The story revolves around relationships, love, and affection,  in the rural landscape. The movie is shot in a beautiful Telangana village environment, which has been portrayed realistically by director Venu. 

Cast: Priyadarshi, Kavya Kalyan Ram, Sudhakar Reddy, Racha Ravi, Muralidhar Goud, Roopa Lakshmi, Jayaram, Vijayalakshmi, Venu Tillu, and others.

Directed by: Venu Yeldandi

Music: Bheems Cicerolio

Cinematography: Acharya Venu

Producers: Harshith Reddy and Hanshitha Reddy

Let’s see how successful the attempt is.

Story:

The central character of the movie is Komaraiah (Sudhakar Reddy), an elderly man who leads a cheerful and humorous life maintaining excellent relationships with everyone in the village. His grandson Sailu (Priyadarshi) is heavily in debt, and he wants to marry and pay off the debt with the dowry money. But on the exact day of Varapooja, his grandfather Komaraiah dies, and the marriage is also stopped due to the death in the house.  Hearing the death of Komaraiah his youngest son and his daughter (Sailu’s Maternal Aunty), who had left the village 20 years ago, come to the village. Sailu’s maternal aunt arrives in the village along with her daughter Sandhya. Sailu develops an interest in Sandhya after realizing that she is wealthy, and he tries to make her fall in love with him.

As no crows eat Komuraya’s Pinda (riceball) on the day of the offering a fight erupts between Sailu family members. The village elders think that Komuraya’s Pinda not being eaten by crow is inauspicious for the village. They believe that this is happening because Komuraiya’s wish is not fulfilled. If the crows do not eat the ‘Pinda’  till the 11th day, the ‘Sailu Family’ are warned that they will be expelled from the village. The story is about the dramatic developments that follow, how Sailu uses his grandfather’s death, and what happened in the end.

Performances:

Priyadarshi lived the role of Sailu, and Kavya acted well as the heroine. Sudhakar Reddy’s role was short, but he did it very well. Racha Ravi impresses with his comedy, and other actors also acted as per their scope.

Technical Performance:

Director Venu has directed the film very well, even though it is his first film. The story seems slow, but the emotions and comedy are natural. Music by Bhims Cicerolie is a plus for the film. Acharya Venu’s cinematography is outstanding, and it has helped make the movie look very honest. The lyrics written by Kasarla Shyam are genuinely amazing. In terms of production, the film has no minus.

Strengths:

The story, background of the story, emotions, comedy, and lyrics in songs are the movie’s strengths.

Weaknesses:

Stretched scenes in some places and the lack of a big star cast are the film’s weaknesses.

In a Word:

‘Balgam’ is a village family story film with good emotions. If you want to go to the cinema with your family this weekend, ‘Balgam’ is a must-see movie.

Rating: 3/5