What happens when a middle-class family suddenly wins a lottery worth Rs 100 crore? And what if this once-in-a-million dream turns into a nightmare for the family? Telugu director Trivikram Srinivas has told this in his film ideal family -House No. 47, starring Venkatesh, Srinidhi Shetty and Nivetha Pathuraj.

The filmmaker has given many blockbuster films in his career, but his last in 2024 with Mahesh Babu, Guntur KarmaIt failed to make a big impact at the box office. Trivikram is teaming up with Venkatesh after two decades for a crime drama sprinkled with comedy in terms of situations, characters and dialogues. Known for his screenplays revolving around family dynamics, relationships, witty exchanges and sharp dialogues, Trivikram tries to bring his familiar storytelling motif to a crime-driven narrative. The question, however, is whether the combination works and whether he manages to introduce something new to a story that has a fairly familiar premise.

We meet Chittibabu (Venkatesh), a working middle-class man who is struggling to pay the rent while his wife Swarna (Sriniddhi Shetty) inefficiently runs a home business that plunges him into huge debt. Her teenage daughter is engaged in a romance with a young man her parents don’t approve of, and to top it all off, she learns that her son needs urgent surgery for a hole in his heart.

As he struggles to keep his family together, Chittibabu is also fired from his job, and just when he thinks things are spiraling out of control, their lives change overnight due to a sudden revelation – he’s won the lottery worth Rs 100 crore! Overnight, they become millionaires and their newfound wealth inspires them to lead a lavish lifestyle, which attracts all kinds of people, including a notorious North Indian criminal gang. What follows is a mix of family drama, comedy and action, as the family tries to escape the clutches of these criminals. How does Chittibabu save and protect the family?

The first half is relatively light, lively and fun and moves quickly as it takes us through the family’s travails and how they become famous lottery winners. There is a certain charm to watching their fortunes change overnight, and the humor works in many parts, especially between Venkatesh and Srinidhi. It’s when we get to the second half – with the involvement of the criminal gang – that the script and the film begin to struggle with predictability.

The story that Trivikram presents us is very 90s and there is no novelty in its presentation. The filmmakers have tried to introduce some new ideas, like Chittibabu, who calls himself the ‘man of the house’, cooking and cleaning, or reversing the gender roles by making Swarna the happy-go-lucky wife sitting at home – these are just for laughs rather than serving any meaningful purpose in the narrative. While an old template can be revisited, its presentation and uncertainty are paramount to making it interesting to the audience. And in this case, the text clearly loses it.

The crime angle feels dated, the twists are easy to predict, and the proceedings lack enough tension to keep the audience invested. This is indeed a disappointment from Trivikram, who is known for his highly engaging family dramas and witty writing.

Venkatesh is comfortable playing the role of a middle-class family man and has played such roles in previous films. in the ideal family Also, he is in his element adding his natural charm to Chittibabu’s character. Kannada actress Srinidhi Shetty shines in the film as the slightly scatter-brained wife and provides the necessary comic relief.

Characters like Sathya and Ramesh Rao are again added to provide the comic factor but they don’t add much value to the narrative apart from a few laughs. Technically the film is competent. Ravi K Chandran’s cinematography gives the action a great look, but S Thaman’s songs in this film are mostly forgettable.

After two decades of the Venkatesh-Trivikram Srinivas combination there were a lot of expectations, but unfortunately Adarsh ​​Kutumbam is just a run-of-the-mill family entertainer with few laughs and no surprises or innovation.