Genre: Drama, Family, Romance
Director: Bhaskar
Producer: Dil Raju
Cast: Siddardha, Genelia, Prakash Raj, Kota Sreenivasa Rao, Jayasudha
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
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Siddhartha, who has the quintessential lover boy looks, along with rare acting abilities and Genelia, the sweet and vivacious girl next door have been paired together after the super-hit musical ‘Boys’-a dream debut with AM Rathnam’s banner and Shankar’s direction for both the youngsters. Devi Sri’s music touched the right chords with the youngsters with a song rendered by the music enthusiast Siddhartha himself. Now all that was left to do was make an entertainer which had emotions, comedy and romance-and we have another super-hit here.
Director Bhaskar and Producer Raju manage to do just that, and a lot more. A movie which everybody in the family can sit and watch (after Godavari, there was a severe draught of this kind) and at the same time, a movie which the youth can
identify with and totally enjoy. The world famous play ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henric Ibsen has a similar concept-of an obsessive control freak husband and a wife who rebels against it (and the synonymous name couldn’t be a coincidence). Either ways, this entertainer lacks nothing, and in short, it is ‘Paisa Vasool’.
Plot Siddhu (Siddhartha) is a youngster whose rich businessman father is a control freak and dictates every aspect of his life. Siddhu wants to make his own decision at least twice in his life, regarding his career and his marriage. But he is shown a pretty girl who he gets engaged to as he has no excuse not to. As luck would have it, he meets Hasini (Genelia) and falls in love with her. How he convinces his father about the girl, and in the process, how he gets the courage to talk to his father about their own strained father-son relationship is what the follows.
Story, screenplay and direction The narration has lot of situational comedy and is made of various little moments between the lead pair, between father and son and between the girl and Siddhartha’s family. Each person in the movie has a well-defined characteristic which is an asset to the movie. The screenplay is interesting and well-presented. There is a very serious undertone which on the surface is kept light, but the issue is ever-pertinent and important. The subject is something that parents and children alike can identify with and associate themselves with it.
The direction is very good. The editing is slick. Bhaskar knows exactly what the audiences want and delivers that effortlessly. Nothing is brash and on-your-face, instead there it is always kept subtle and that works in the favor of the movie as well as the actors. Bhaskar gets the best out of both Siddhartha and Prakash Raj.
The climax scenes between Siddhartha and his father are emotional and appealing, as are the scenes when Hasini comes to stay with his family. The confrontation between father and son in the end is a good scene-extremely emotional without being melodramatic. The scene where Hasini sits with Siddhu’s family and tells the disciplinarian Prakash Raj “Uncle, you are very handsome”, is comical, among other sequences. Sunil’s comedy and Siddhu’s dilemma, Siddhu’s sister’s obsession with make-up and his mother’s singing quests are interesting.
GeneliaPerformances Siddhartha has established himself as both an appealing young star and a performer in a very short time. He is very good in this movie, and tackles each emotion well. He is a very good actor, and the best thing about him is he doesn’t take himself too seriously, so he maintains that boyish charm and peevish mannerisms. Genelia is chirpy and bubbly, and has certain moments in the movie where she can look back satisfied as an actor-the scene where she goes out of Siddhu’s house has her in form. Her timing is good and she pairs well with Siddhartha.
Prakash Raj is the highlight of the movie where he steals the show with mere screen presence. He is a director’s actor, and after many roles where he only had to ham and over-do his character and not act, finally he has been given the opportunity to emote; which he does brilliantly. Jayasudha does justice to her role, and the horde of family members that are present all add their little something to the movie, and do make a difference.
Siddhu’s sister, played by Sudeepa, is good as is Sunil-they are a treat to watch. “Satti-O Manchi Panodu,” that Sunil goes around saying is hilarious. Kota also emotes very well in the movie, like Prakash Raj, after many hamming characters later, a chance to act. Brahmanandam seems to add value to the movie-so he is doing many one scene roles these days, which the veteran manages without effort.