Balagam movie review: An honest slice of life film

When Komurayya (Sudhakar Reddy) dies a couple of days shy of the engagement of his grandson Sayilu (Priyadarshi), the latter’s whole world shatters as his plans of using the hefty dowry to clear his mounting debts comes to a halt. Due to ego hassles between his own family and the girl’s family, the proposal is called off within a day. Desperate to pay off the loan sharks, Sayilu eyes his estranged uncle’s daughter Sandhya (Kavya Kalyanram) as his next target for big money. How he schemes with the help of his two friends to bring the families together to make this alliance possible while arranging the rituals surrounding his grandfather’s death forms the crux of the film. Giving a touch of magic realism, a crow, representing his dead grandfather’s soul, plays a part in the machiavellian schemes of the grandson. Amidst ritualistic feasts, bristly egos, and drunken brawls, the family finally is brought together by the dead patriarch with everybody realising the value of relations and social bonds in a reaffirmation of the Indian family system.

Balagam is largely an examination of changing family equations, the societal expectations from an individual and a family, and the pressures tearing them apart simultaneously forcing them to stay together.

Balagam portrays the customs and rituals during the 12-day period following a death in Telangana villages. With little variations, regardless of caste and area differences, these are the customs followed across Telangana and parts of Andhra Pradesh. The film faithfully documents these rituals with carefully designed comic interludes from smaller characters. Most of the actors are either first timers or relatively unknown artistes. As the film progresses, each character lends credence to the farcical drama. The old lady who demands a cold drink during the wailing and chest thumping; the old man who stuffs himself with meat and falls sick later; the village guy who demands foreign whiskey; the tailor (the director himself) who is afraid of being asked about his conversation with Komurayya; the village lady who asks for a snooker ball for her grandson… it’s a panoply of characters filling the big canvas with many hues of life. Keeping this all together is the music of the film by Bheems Cicerolio. Different forms of Telangana’s traditional music support and enhances the narrative constantly, particularly the dirge coming at the end.

The proceedings might feel a bit tedious to the uninitiated, but the overall impact is definitely rewarding. The redemption of the lead actor feels a little incomplete as his struggles with debts and his familial dishonesty is left unanswered. Actor turned director Venu Yeldandi has done a fantastic job with an unusual subject amidst the lavish, commercial films surrounding us. The sheer amount of work in handling so many characters in a film, that too by a debutant, is mind boggling. Perhaps his years as a successful comedian has played a big part here. Producer Dil Raju, who is known for romances and big budget commercial flicks, pleasantly surprises the audience with this choice of cinema. He must be congratulated for backing a small, rooted film like this.

Finally, Balagam is an honest slice of life story from rural Telangana. It might feel a bit anachronistic, yet it deserves praise for attempting to bring forward a part of life that has been ignored so long in Telugu cinema.