There are many films in Telugu Cinema which feature a separate comedy sequence in the actual plot of the story. But what will happen if the plot itself is based on hilarious characterizations? If such film speaks on a social evil Dowry as well, in a convincing manner it would be definitely termed as an all time Telugu Comedy Classic. One such film which had nonstop comedy along with a beautiful love story and questioning the social evils prevailing in the society is Srivariki Premalekha directed by Hasya Brahma Jandhyala.
Ananda Rao (Naresh) is a pampered son of a stubborn father Parandhamayya (Sutthi Veera Bhadra Rao). He is the youngest in the family and excessively taken care of. The care is so funny that when Ananda Rao asks his father to buy a bike for him, he also appoints a driver Sarangaramudu (Raallapalli) for the bike so that his son is safe from accidents! Paranadhamayya’s family is weirdly amazing in every respect that every person in the family has some craziness associated with them. While Parandhayamma’s elder son Bhaskar (Nutan Prasad) is obsessed with playing cards, he is troubled by his wife Poorna (Srilakshmi) who narrates film stories at an annoying length! His daughter Kamakshi (Sangeetha) is a cooking freak who tries preparing cuisines all around the world and troubles her husband Suryam (Vidyasagar).
Coming to the female lead of the film, it is Swarna (Poornima) who is fearless and ready to take up any challenge in the name of a bet. She strongly disagrees to marry by giving dowry and hence her nature is a serious worry to her parents. During a casual conversation with her friends one day, she plays a bet saying that all men in the world will fall instantly for a woman who speaks sweetly. When her friends disagree, it goes to a serious bet. In turn, she writes a romantic love letter and asks her friends to post in the name of their choice. The fun begins when that letter reaches Ananda Rao ! Being a son in father’s shadow, he immediately falls for the beautiful words penned by an unknown girl and decides to get married to only her.
Swarna conveniently forgets about this love letter and visits her sisters’s house in Vizag. Ananda Rao is their neighbor and Swarma instantly likes the innocent nature and strong ideals of Ananda Rao and falls for him. After some confusion and more laughter, the rest of the story is about how the lead pair comes together and what happens to the Funniest Parandhamayya’s family!
Trade
Highlights
The film features all the comedians of that age- Sutthi Veera Bhadra Rao,Nutan Prasad, Potti Prasad, Srilakshmi, Raallapalli, Misro, Sutthi Velu and so on.
There is a sequence in the film where Ananda Rao is forced to see a girl in arranged marriage by his father. This scene features nonstop laughter along with a wonderful song sung by Ananda Rao in the tune of “Raghuvamsa Sutha” krithi but with changed lyrics. The lyrics read “Parahimsa Paarayana” speak wonderfully about how dowry killed so many innocent women all around India.
Most of the film was shot in beautiful locations of Vizag with many sea side shots.
The song “Manasa thullipakade” sung by the female lead Swarna in the film is termed as one of the best songs which depict the feelings of a young girl in Telugu Cinema.
Sidelights
This story of this film is based on a Novel named Premalekha written by Potturi Vijayalakshmi. It was wonderfully adapted by Jandhyala in the movie form.
The only film in Jandhyala and Usha Kiran Movies production house combination.