Vijay Deverakonda and Parasuram have come back together for Family Star after having done Geetha Govindam earlier. Family Star is a commercial potboiler that is packed with formulaic commercial elements. Here is our review of the film.
Story: Govardhan(Vijay Devearkonda) is a hardworking middle class man who is with the responsibility of financially looking after his family as his brother are worthless. One day, he gets to meet Mrunal Thakur who later becomes a tenant at his house and this changes is life. But there is a hidden reason behind this coming together. What is that reason?
How did the cast perform?
The film has a large cast loaded with known faces. Vijay Deverakonda is the mainstay with his antics as a middle class man and he delivers the goods with his refined portrayal. Mrunal Thakur looks as gorgeous as ever on the big screen. Ajay Ghosh, Divyansha and others deliver fine performances in their respective roles. Being a commercial film, Family Star doesn't challenge any of these actors intellectually.
What about the technical finesse?
The film is directed by Parasuram who is known for making commercial potboilers. But the issue here is that he picks a routine commercial subject with expected tropes for this Vijay Deverakonda starrer.
Music by Gopi Sundar is a let down as it doesn't provide the required zest. The audio album is mediocre at best with a couple of songs having passable vibe. The background score is weak and doesn't pack the needed impetus. Cinematography is standard. Dil Raju's production values are good.
Analysis:
Family Star starts off on the establishment of the middle class family and their hassles. Mrunal Thakur is introduced after a good 30 minutes and the tempo fell down drastically by then. Vijay does deliver a fine performance but the lackluster writing is the culprit as the first half ends on a strictly below par note.
The opening exchanges in the second half are reasonably better but much like the first half, the latter half also quickly loses steam before spiralling into a big ball of mess.
The scenes like hero standing at New York Times Square for easy and quick money and a gang of foreigners kidnapping him for his charm are shambolic. Parasuram's pen appears to have lost juice.
The climax portion is very formulaic and it has no novelty whatsoever. The ending should have been planned in a better manner at least to make for a decent viewing towards the end.
Family Star mostly progresses on an expected middle class family drama tone but the issue is that it loses steam very often and as a whole, doesn't have a single stretch of 10 minutes that keeps us invested.
Verdict: Family Star is a below par commercial potboiler that has more things going against it than going for it. The film has decent performances from Vijay and Mrunal but Parasuram's writing and presentation are shambolic.
Rating: 2.25/5
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