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Telugu director Bhaskar, whose forte lies in the treatment of the generation gap particularly when it comes to love, has come up with yet another love story. While his Bommarillu looked at the father-son ties, Parugu (In the name of love) is about the father-daughter bond.
It's love at first sight for Krishna (Allu Arjun) when he catches sight of Meena (Sheela) on a misty morning. Meena, however is unaware of the effect she has on Krishna.
Her family, particularly her father Neelakantha (Prakash Raj), is going through a rough patch after her sister Subbalakshmi (Poonam Bazwa) elopes on the day of her marriage. Neelakantha is angry (as she has defied him leading to the loss of the family prestige) and heartbroken as he cannot see his daughter.
On learning that his son-in-law's friends are involved, he rounds them up with the help of his huge family members and locks them up in his 'outhouse-cum-junk yard'. One of the boys involved is Krishna, who stands by his friend and Subbalakshmi. Neelakantha does not realise that Krishna loves Meena and is afraid that his second daughter too will elope. Slowly Meena too falls in love. How the situation is resolved makes up the rest of the film.
Bhaskar does well in not allowing the heroine and hero to meet face to face, thereby maintaining the suspense. The screenplay in the first half is fast paced followed by a rather slow second half. The climax is rather tame.
The movie has its share of songs and fights. One of the songs, Parugulu, set against the historical and desert backdrop (perhaps Jordan) is choreographed and shot well. Manisharma's music is in sync with the film but perhaps not his best.
Bhaskar is adept in extracting good performances from his actors. Both Bommarillu and Parugu bear testimony to this. Arjun performs well though he is rather subdued as compared to his Desamuduru. He is cool, renders his dialogues in a casual way and displays all his vim and vigour in his dances.
Sheela does what is necessary in what little she has to do, which is mainly emoting fear and hesitation.
Prakash Raj is a seasoned and excellent actor who performs any role with elan. He shines as the stern father with a soft heart. Jayasudha and Poonam Bazwa make their presence felt in the cameos. Others like Sunil, Ali and Subbaraju do the needful.
Bhaskar ensures that the largely rural setting of the story will go down well with the rural as well as urban audience.
One has to wait and watch if the 'Dil' Raju-Bhaskar duo can repeat the magic of Bommarillu with Parugu.
Rediff Rating: 