‘Para’ Movie Review: Anupama, Darshan and Sangita Sparkle Praveen Kandrigula’s film celebrates female friendship

Rich There is a fresh breath in a large-scale matchsticking Telugu cinema. Imagine three women, from different backgrounds, on a road trip to find a solution to a crisis, one of them is caught.

Director Praveen Kandreguula’s film consisting of Anupama Parmeswaran, Darshan Rajendran and Sangita Krishi, Gramjoshi, Khushi, Laughter and Brims with tears.

The journey gives these women very important migration from their daily pieces. As they soak in the vastness of the landscape, they question their understanding of the world and gender equations. Despite heavy folklore that acts as a fullcram for the story, considerable parts are handled with a lightness that makes it pleasant.

Writers Poojita Srikanti and Prahus Bopudi, and Script Doctor Krishna Pratisha gently checked the lines of gender discourse and claimed the need for mutual respect.

Remember National Geographic in the 1980s? Praveen Kandrigula does not refer to this image, but the motivation is evident for anyone studying between lines. He again explains what can happen to a woman who photographs without permission and finds his face on a magazine cover.

Sabalakshmi or Subbu (Anupama) lives in a fictional village in Telugu where all women are veil. ‘Para’ or veil is mandatory, a practice tied to the story of the village deity. A publicly seen woman without her veil is believed to bring bad luck to the village, and the punishment is no less than death.

An outsider can brush all this on one side as superstition, but women in belief are air -conditioned to follow these rules that the veil is to protect them. The tagline refers to the use of the veil and its manipulation in ‘Love’s name’. Rich Describes folklore with the use of puppets.

The film comes for speed when in a moment, Subbu’s veil is blowing from the air and is unknown, a photographer clicks on his picture that then finds his way for a magazine cover, and eventually reverse his life.

Anupama plays this central character with patience and vulnerability. Her eyes express the small city marshes, fear and small happiness of crime when she feels responsible for havoc that her actions may cause her village, and then resolve when she does not apologize for a task she never did.

In a veil, his face, Anupama lets his body talk to talk – it is a longing for his childhood love (raga peacock as Rajesh) or share his views on his mother’s memorial. When her veil closes and Mridul Sen’s camera frames her closely, we are watching high freckles – almost as a hat tip for the Afghan cover girl. Anupama turns into her best performance till date. See out for an episode when she bends in fear and breaks down, only to be stronger than all. She portrays changes with grace and determination, making us root to win.

Layers of Rich Gradually, when Ratna (cognizance), a housewife, who dedicates all her time and energy to meet the needs of her husband and two children, and Amisha (philosophy), a civil engineer, who is working hard around a male-dominated, hopes that one day he will tighten the glass roof, will be brought into the picture.

Each of these women is written with sympathy and complexity. As much as Ratna craves me for some ‘time’, she slowly and strongly understands her husband why the village visit is necessary. Santita is luxurious in her depiction of a mature woman, which is a referee between about two younger women. In the scene where she brings the house down during a phone conversation with her husband, Sangita is a revelation. I was surprised to see her in her element why we do not see enough characters written for women in our 30s or 40s.

Darshana, making his debut in Telugu, is suitable in a part of Delhi, which is a fluent Hindi and a clipped, pronunciation Telugu. It is commendable that he has dubbed his Telugu lines himself. We first see him at a construction site, which has become strict from his surroundings. So much that when an associate wants a holiday of menstruation, she says with this idea that women civil engineers cannot make such ‘excuses’. Details like these, how women take extra stress so that the film can not be seen in the form of weak sex, make the film shiny.

Darshan, which also had a sensing makeup, is a modern No-Bakwas as a young woman, every bit relayable, proudly wears her single tag. The actor makes his illustration easy, as it is practiced, with practice that shows his character very alive.

Once the coordination between these women is established, the story captures their bond as really as possible. They laugh, fret and smoke like women of real life, with all their strength and misunderstanding.

Apart from Subbu’s major battle, the story throws light on patriarchy every day which is not only given by men, but also as a way of life, also deeply connected within many women that they rarely question. It also shows how women can inadvertently decide other women and their choice. A scene characterized by a female officer, usually seen as a symbol of strength, is cleverly used to show how women of power may like to wear or eat makeup. This scene inspires women to accept each other more.

Rich Also, his men do not paint as an avatar of evil, even if it could easily do so. The story encourages the female hero to question the practices, changing perceptions rather than point fingers. It is a good line to walk and this script does it well. Even in the case of fiancé Rajesh, he is depicted as a person who does not know any better. Raga Mayur is confident in this brief part.

Harshvardhan fits basically in a more brief part that indicates how men take women. A modest moment focuses on the irony with which he refers to the village and its raw habits, while he is washing hands on a plate instead of walking on a sink.

The only part where I felt that the film’s tonal shift found a heavy heavy and clunk, during the gender discussion between three women in later parts. It is not a sore throat. Their frustrations are valid, so ‘I will not apologize for the retaliation of the road rage’ when I have done everything right ‘or’ I will not apologize ‘. But the tone could have been smooth.

Rich Easy on the eye, given that it is shot in real places. Earthen rural settings with their dark red and brown and the cooler tons of Dharamshala and Himalayas are beautifully caught by Mridul Sen. Production design and visual beauty also beautifully capture intimate settings; For example, take homes or abandoned train compartments in the village. Gopi Sundar’s music is shifted between folk themes and western-inspired beats, which complements the story.

Convenient coincidences such as most Telugu speaking people from three women have only minor hold in Dharamshala.

overall, Rich There is a rare, brave film that breaks the monotonity of mainstream Telugu cinema and is worthy of celebrating.

(The curtain is currently running in theaters)

Published – August 21, 2025 08:52 pm IST