Pelli Kani Prasad is written and directed by Abhilash Reddy Gopidi. Released in theatres by Sri Venkateswara Creations, the family entertainer is a thorough headache. Here is our review.
Plot:
Prasad (Sapthagiri) works as a hotel manager in Malaysia. His dowry-crazy father (Muralidhar Goud) keeps postponing his marriage to find the elusive bride who can shell out two crore rupees. Desperate to get married, Prasad woos his sweetheart Priya (Priyanka Sharma) and marries her. However, the marital union only results in friction between the two families. What is the cause of the friction? Will Prasad and Priya live happily ever after?
Post-Mortem:
There are rushed climaxes. And then there is the rushed climax of Pelli Kani Prasad. The hurried pace of the second half is a testament to the film's plot-less superficiality. Yes, it is a relief that the film gets over real quick, but the urgency with which the proceedings are closed gives a feeling that even the film's crew wanted to get rid of the project. Or, maybe, someone really devoured the footage at the Edit table so the film has an honourable release.
The film is packed with every cliché imaginable. What family entertainer would be complete without a 'first night' comedy scene, accompanied by the neighing of a horse in the background, designed to titillate the audience with implications of male sexual desire? As the nuptial endeavour is about to begin, Prasad says that he used to be Pelli Kaani Prasad till a while ago. The night scene comes with references to Telugu words like 'puvvu', 'kasi' and other beloved words of the Gen Z Telugu 'yuvatha'.
The female lead's crazed behaviour is mined for an in-your-face style of humour. The way she speaks is outright artificial but the more annoying aspect is that she expects the audience to laugh out loud every time she addresses her hubby as 'yevandi' with all the possible fakery she can muster. To be fair to the film, the female lead's obsessions are not random or extreme. The situations emerging thereof could have been a nice comment on the hedonistic mindsets of contemporary youngsters.
When some comedy actors play lead roles, they want to show frustration like the regular heroes in our mainstream commercial cinema. The same goes with Saptagiri in the case of Pelli Kani Prasad. In the scene where his wife's cartoonish relatives pester him, notice his body language. Comedians like Sunil and Santhanam too have delivered similarly flawed acts after becoming lead actors. This brand of acting doesn't suit them. They fail to evoke sympathy when their characters eventually face adversity. Prasad's wife turning toxic should have ideally endeared him to the audience. But that's not the case here. We don't feel anything for him.
Add to this the fact that Prasad's father comes across as downright mean instead of the intended unhinged type. For the oddball character he is playing, he looks way too serious. The wife and her family may be abusive, but the screenplay is least interested in anything other than the slapstick circus. To satisfy the senseless compulsion for physical comedy, Prasad behaves in dissonant ways. There is a lawyer couple who invoke titles like DJ Tillu, Animal, Dirty Picture, Amrutham, and Virupaksha during a court scene. Malaysia is this film's Padaghattam.
Closing Remarks:
Pelli Kani Prasad is a tedious family entertainer that relies on tired cliches and grating humor.
