Parugu

Plot

Neelakanta (Prakash Raj) is a revered person in the village he resides whose daughters Subbalakshmi (Poonam Bajwa) and Meenakshi (Sheela Kaur) are more than anything for him in the world. Subbalakshmi loves a native called Errababu with whom she elopes on the night of her arranged marriage ceremony. Neelakanta's relative Chinnabbai (Subbaraju) suspects that Errababu's friends are involved in this and when interrogated brutally, they reveal that two more people, Sarma from Ongole, and Krishna (Allu Arjun) from Hyderabad also helped the couple to elope. By mistaken reference of initials in the names, P. Yagnanarayana Sarma (Saptagiri) was kidnapped at Ongole while the original man was left unevoked. At Hyderabad, a drunk Krishna is kidnapped at night near his house who is notoriously known for being a nomad and an expert in escaping. They are literally imprisoned at the village's temple, and all of them plan to escape the next early morning by catching a train. While all others almost approach the train next morning, Krishna stops when he sees Meenakshi at an Anjaneya statue and falls in love with her, though Meenakshi is unaware of his presence. They all are kidnapped yet again by Neelakanta's men there and are imprisoned in a small pent house near the main house of Neelakanta. Its doors remain closed an locked and only 3 windows are there where a man can see the entrance door of main house and the nearby flooring and parking area. While his friends are horrified, Krishna is not influenced by the fact that he is in love with a native of the village and on eloping with her, all of them have to face big trouble from the villagers. Meanwhile, Meenakshi tries to speak with them with an intention to find out details about Subbalakshmi and neither Krishna nor his friends can see her face because of the pent house's style of construction.

He asks her to help him find his love and in return promises her to tell details about Subbalakshmi's whereabouts. Added advantage to Krishna is a set of love letters received by Subbalakshmi from Errababu which are presently in his custody and Meenakshi is hell bent to recover them back. Meanwhile, Krishna's friend Srinu (Chitram Srinu) is caught red handed who, after execution of brutal force by Neelakanta's men, reveals that the couple is in Vishakhapatnam. At Vishakhapatnam, Krishna manages to send the couple Guntur without the knowledge of Neelakanta's henchmen and later at the pent house, he reveals that he is the mastermind behind the act of Subbalakshmi eloping with Errababu which is heard by Meenakshi who hid there and escapes through the back door. Because of her, the truth is revealed and Krishna too finds out that his love is none other than Meenakshi. When Krishna and his friends are brutally tortured, he lies that the couple are in Hyderabad to save his friends. Neelakanta, Bullabbai, Chinnabbai and others along with Meenakshi go to Hyderabad along with Krishna and his friends, but Krishna is unaware of the fact that Errababu and Subbalakshmi are actually in Hyderabad. All of them start searching for the couple and meanwhile Krishna earns the trust of Neelakanta, his henchmen, and Meenakshi by saving her from a bunch of goons who try to molest her, and she slowly starts reciprocating his love, though never confesses it. Krishna too realizes the pain faced by Neelakanta because of Subbalakshmi's wrongdoings. The next day, Neelakanta and Krishna manage to catch Subbalakshmi and Errababu red handed, and there, Subbalakshmi revolts against her doting father and threatens to file a police case on him. He leaves in dejection and Krishna watches on. At the railway station, everyone parts ways with Neelakanta apologizing to Krishna and his friends, and invites them to Meenakshi's marriage. Meenakshi stares at Krishna waiting to confess her love though Krishna stands like a statue there till the train leaves.

Seeing his son leading a lazy, dull and unexcited life against the way he lived makes Krishna's mother Yashoda (Jayasudha) send him away to bring Meenakshi as his wife. With Srinu and Sarma pressurizing him, Krishna goes along with his friends to attend the marriage. While Neelakanta is afraid that Meenakshi would elope with Krishna this night, Krishna confronts Neelakanta and confesses his love for Meenakshi and assures that he would not elope with her. Realizing that Meenakshi's happiness lies in the company of Krishna, he lets the lovers unite that night after halting the ongoing ceremony and also plans to bring Subbalakshmi and Errababu back to the village, thus accepting them too.

Cast

Development

After the 2004 film Arya, Dil Raju wanted to produce a film with Allu Arjun as the protagonist of the film and planned to select Sukumar as the director of the film. However it did not materialize. Later Bhaskar approached them with a subject which the duo accepted. Incidentally, it was the sixth film for both Allu Arjun and Dil Raju in their career. The film was officially launched on 15 March 2007 at Dil Raju's office in Hyderabad. Devi Sri Prasad was selected initially as the music director though Mani Sharma replaced him later. The film's title has been in major headlines prior to the film's release. Initially it was reported in early December 2007 that the film is titled Romeo. In early February 2008, it was reported that the film is titled Premikudu which was the title of the Telugu dubbed version of Shankar's Kadhalan. Later the titles Enta Ghaatu Premayo, Araku and Varadhi were considered before being titled as Parugu. In an interview, Bhaskar said that this film is based on real life characters and the scenes in the film are based on real life happenings.

Casting

Allu Arjun was a part of the film since its initial stages. He had to shed weight he gained in course of building a six pack body for the film Desamuduru for this film and maintained a short hair style as he had to appear like a common middle class man. After considering Vedhicka for the female lead, Priyamani was selected in mid-July 2007 marking her first collaboration with Allu Arjun. However, Priyamani walked out of the project and it was reported in mid-August 2007 that she would be replaced with Sheela. Her inclusion was confirmed by Puri Jagannadh who said that her performance in the film Hello Premistara impressed Bhaskar and Dil Raju which made them sign her for this role. Prakash Raj, who played an important role in Bhaskar's debut Bommarillu was signed for an equally important role in this film which the actor quoted as the best role in the film. Subbaraju was selected for an important role with negative shades. Poonam Bajwa made a crucial cameo appearance in this film. Telugu anchor Chitralekha was selected for a small supporting role. Saptagiri debuted as a comedian with this film. Regarding his casting, he said "I assisted Bommarillu Bhaskar for the film Parugu and he was impressed with my narrative skill. He offered me a role, and I received acclaim."

Filming

During the film's launch, it was planned that the principal photography would commence in May 2007. It was reported in early May 2007 that the principal photography would begin in June 2007 and the technicians are yet to be finalized. In mid-August 2007, the filming continued at Kodaikanal where a song and few important scenes were shot. Later, the film's shoot continued in locales of Kerala where crucial scenes on Allu Arjun, Sheela and Prakash Raj were shot. By 29 September 2007 the film's Kerala schedule was complete by which 30% of the film's shoot was wrapped up. The next schedule started at Hyderabad in the first week of October 2007. The film's climax was shot at Kodaikanal in mid-October 2007. Later, the shooting continued in mid-November 2007 at Rajahmundry. It was estimated then that the filming would be wrapped up by January 2008. From 15 March 2008 the filming continued at Jordan where songs on Allu Arjun and Sheela were shot. Later in an interview on 8 April 2008 Allu Arjun confirmed that 90% of shooting is complete and the rest would be wrapped in a week.

Soundtrack

Mani Sharma composed the soundtrack and the background score of the film which marks his first collaboration with both Bhaskar and Allu Arjun. The film's soundtrack featured 6 songs with Sirivennela Sitaramasastri, Anantha Sreeram and Chandrabose penning 2 songs each. Bhaskar said that all the songs were situational songs in this film which drive the story forward. Hemachandra and Rahul Nambiar sang two distinct songs in the album while Kailash Kher, Saindhavi, Ranjith and Saketh were the other singers who sang the remaining songs in the soundtrack. The film's soundtrack was launched on 8 April 2008 by hosting a promotional event at Durgam Cheruvu and Chiranjeevi attended the launch as the chief guest. The lead cast & crew of the film attended the function and Chiranjeevi handed the first cassette to Prakash Raj. The film's soundtrack was marketed by Aditya Music.

The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics. Cinegoer.net wrote "Not disappointing, but not the best of Sharma. Three of the numbers stand out, including Parugulu, Yelageylaga and Hrudayam. The entire compilation is not bad, yet there is nothing unique about the sound. Still, the movie-music connection is directly proportional and considering all factors, the music is good enough, but just enough. Nothing great though" and gave it a rating of 3/5 calling it a "Reasonable Fare". IndiaGlitz wrote "Manisharma strives hard to make the album a musical hit and he succeeded in it. As fondly called by his fans 'Melody Brahma', Manisharma mixed melody and fast beat in right ratio to suit the taste of all classes of audiences. The audio would no doubt would become one of the chart busters."

The film's soundtrack was a huge success with good number of sales and the double platinum disc celebrations were planned to held in the first week of May 2008. The songs Nammavemo, Hrudayam and Manakanna Podiche were chart busters. However it was held at Jayabheri Club in Hyderabad on 17 May 2008. However the absence of Bhaskar and Mani Sharma was conspicuous. The cast and crew present were presented with the Double Platinum disc shields. Saketh won a nomination for Best Male Playback Singer – Telugu at the 56th Filmfare Awards South but lost it to Karthik who won it for the song Nijanga Nenena from the film Kotha Bangaru Lokam.

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from the critics. The Hindu wrote "The movie is interesting and a must watch for more than one reason. The usually loud and energy effusing Arjun downplays his role and gives a heartfelt performance. Bhaskar runs a compassionate thread throughout the film even while he spends the first half of the film introducing the characters and seamlessly breaks the flow of characters with humour and minimum violence. There are a few emotionally intense, and fewer tear-jerking moments in the film but they serve to move the character forward, but to enjoy this film, watch it without any expectation and you will be surprised with the engaging and a racy tone of the first half and the interesting development of Prakash Raj’s character post interval." Cinegoer.net gave a review stating "A good narrative and a strong subject, with some humor and music added in good measure-Parugu is another movie from Dil Raju-Bhaskar that is likeable. It may not be up to Bommarillu's standards because the subject itself has been dealt with several times before and there is a lack of freshness. Nonetheless, the movie is a good watch and Bhasker proves he's not a one film wonder" and rated the film 3.25/5. Oneindia Entertainment gave a review stating "Till the interval bang, director Bhaskar has given the audiences an impression that he was able to overcome the second film hitch, which is haunting most of the debutante directors. But he has made mistakes inadvertently in the second half. He has failed to extract the exact emotions from the artists and the story appears to be dragging and nagging till the climax. However, he has given a good twist in the climax and has made it a little interesting." idlebrain.com gave a review stating "First half is good and entertaining with nice ambiance. The movie's tempo goes down as soon as the gang shifts to Hyderabad in the second half. The climax of the film appears little hesitant and ambiguous. The plus points of the film are energetic performance by Allu Arjun and well made first half. On the flip side, the emotions in the second half don't work and the movie lacks soul. We have to wait and see how this film fares at box office" and rated the film 3/5.

Rediff.com wrote "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. 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." Sify wrote "Producer Dil Raju and director Bhaskar, who created magic among the class and mass audiences with the film Bommarillu has failed to repeat the same in this much-hyped film with Allu Arjun. The movie just doesn’t live up to the huge expectations. It has songs that are sensationally choreographed and has excellent camerawork, but it's still a film with a plot that just doesn't work. It’s an average film at best. Don't go in expecting too much, perhaps you won't be too disappointed." IndiaGlitz wrote "The entire first half gave the audiences an impression that Bommarillu Bhaskar is all set to continue the magic which he did in 'Bommarillu'. However he trembled in the second half as he doesn't know how to continue the story further. Most of the scenes are very boring and the audiences were seen moving impatiently in their seats in the absence of enough comedy relief. Too much of emotional scenes in the second half tested the patience of audiences." greatandhra.com gave a review stating "This is the second film by Bommarillu Bhaskar and the next film for Allu Arjun after Desamuduru. It is obvious that the expectations of Arjun fans will be big as their hero's film hitting screens after very long time. Dil Raju produced it and hence Bommarillu charisma is added to it. But things didn't gel well with the expectations. The film proved to be a letdown disappointing many" and rated the film 2.5/5.

Box office

The film collected a share of ₹10.82 crores in its first 9 days of theatrical run and collected ₹ 21 crores in 3 weeks. There were mixed reviews for the film. The film completed 50 days in 179 centers. The film ran 100 days in 54 centres. Parugu collected a Share of ₹22 crore (US$3.4 million)(nett) in 3 Weeks worldwide. Parugu grossed ₹40 crore (US$6.2 million) in 100 days and became one of the highest grossing Telugu film of 2008.

Trivia

Awards