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<\/picture><\/div>\nTelugu cinema has consistently portrayed stories where protagonists embody middle-class values \u2014 from Needi Naadi Oke Katha <\/i>and Middle Class Melodies <\/i>to Middle Class Abbayi (MCA)<\/i> and The Family Star<\/i>. Interestingly, Dil Raju, the producer behind two of these films, also backs Janaka Aithe Ganaka <\/i>this week.\u00a0 The Sandeep Reddy Bandla directorial, starring Suhas, aims to acknowledge and appreciate the bread-winners of middle-class households, in the guise of a courtroom drama. <\/p>\n
Prasad (Suhas), a married man, is a salesperson for a washing machine manufacturing company. Dissatisfied with having been brought up with compromises, and fearing that he and his wife may not be financially able to raise a child, the couple decide against parenthood, until their decision backfires.<\/p>\n
The film takes off in style as Sandeep establishes the interpersonal relationships in Prasad\u2019s family with a hint of satire. Prasad keeps quarrelling with his father Ramana over the latter\u2019s bad real estate investments, shares a love-hate relationship with his grandmother, and buys\u00a0jalebis<\/i>\u00a0for his wife in the evenings. He beats weekday work blues at a bar with a lawyer friend.\u00a0<\/p>\n Director: Sandeep Reddy Bandla<\/p>\n Cast: Suhas, Sangeerthana Vipin, Goparaju Ramana<\/p>\n Storyline: A salesperson sues a condom manufacturer when his wife gets pregnant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A scene where Prasad justifies his reasons for not having a child is a laugh riot. However, after Prasad files a petition against a condom manufacturer and the action shifts to the court, the film falls apart gradually. Moving beyond the slice-of-life, relatable setting, the filmmaker takes too many cinematic liberties to generate (substandard) humour.\u00a0<\/p>\n Janaka Aithe Ganaka <\/i>is a film with an identity crisis. It starts by painting a realistic portrait of middle-class life, makes a mess of the courtroom proceedings with weak, vague arguments and caricaturish characters and fails to give any agency to Prasad\u2019s wife. The female lead only smiles, eats\u00a0jalebis<\/i>\u00a0and reiterates the line \u2018maa ayana anni chuskuntaru\u2019 <\/i>(my husband will take care of everything).<\/p>\n Alternating from misleading condom advertisements to livelihood issues, the difficulties of raising a child and problems plaguing the education system, there\u2019s no focus in the storytelling. A pre-interval scene, where a judge is desperate to know more about Prasad\u2019s \u2018equation\u2019 with his wife, is in poor taste and raises doubts about the director\u2019s intent.\u00a0<\/p>\n At no point is Prasad genuinely challenged in the court. It\u2019s surprising how a middle-class man, leading a hand-to-mouth existence, quits his job out impulsively and fights a case in a court with a novice lawyer. The inherent perversion in the characterisation of the advocates representing the condom manufacturer dilutes the story further.\u00a0Worse, there is an unnecessary, dangerous generalisation about abortion. <\/p>\n The repeated spotlight on Prasad\u2019s financial status makes for a tedious watch. The climax is too hurried, with the sudden and convenient transformation of the characters.<\/p>\n Murli Sharma\u2019s entry as the defence lawyer doesn\u2019t provide much momentum either; the sparks are too intermittent to offer any respite. The tale of a common man pitted against a corporate giant in a court is inspired by some Ayushmann Khurana starrers, OMG 2 <\/i>and Jolly LLB. Janaka Aithe Ganaka <\/i>too tries to tackle a social stigma using humour and a handful of visual metaphors, but the treatment is insensitive and tone-deaf.\u00a0<\/p>\n The casting decisions evince no interest. It\u2019s tiring to see Suhas play different variants of the same character \u2014 of an ordinary man stuck in an extraordinary situation. Though he\u2019s a performer of terrific mettle, the film doesn\u2019t offer him much scope to try anything new. Goparaju Ramana, as the Chetak-riding father, is hardly tested in a familiar role.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sangeerthana Vipin\u2019s warm screen presence is under-utilised in a poorly etched character where femininity is reduced to domesticity. Vennela Kishore is the only actor who enlivens the screen even in beaten-to-death situations. Rajendra Prasad and Prabhas Sreenu get a few moments to shine but the treatment of their characters leaves a lot to be desired.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cinematographer Sai Sriram\u2019s lively colour palette is certainly a silver lining. Vijai Bulganin\u2019s background score complements the narrative, while Karthik\u2019s song \u2018Nuvve Naku Lokam\u2019 is the pick of the lot. Debutant director Sandeep Reddy Bandla handles family drama and humour better than the high-stakes sequences, which he stuffs with too many ideas.\u00a0<\/p>\n If handled well, Janaka Aithe Ganaka <\/i>could have been a conversation starter on several pertinent issues \u2014 the idea of not having children, the stigma around condom usage and misleading advertisements. For now, it is just another missed opportunity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n (Janaka Aithe Ganaka is currently running in theatres)<\/i><\/p>\nJanaka Aithe Ganaka (Telugu)<\/h5>\n
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