Parampara Web Series Review

BOTTOM LINE

Grandly Mounted

OUR RATING
2.25/5

Plaftorm

Hotstar


What Is the Film About?
The story of Parampara tracks the journey of Gopi (Naveen Chandra), a third-generation boy of the powerful Naidu family. He is the son of Mohan Rao (Jagapathi Babu) and holds grudge against Naidu (Sarath Kumar) for taking his dads position.

The various actions taken by Gopi to hurt or bring down Naidu forms the series basic narrative.

The subplots involve the bond between the brothers Naidu and Mohan Rao, the love story of Gopi, and the threats they face in their powerful position.

Performances
Naveen Chandra has been working and doing his bit for ages. After a long time, he gets a central character in a big production and he delivers. It also helps him that the character is close to the perception that one has on him in real life – that he is someone who is not getting his due.

Parampara offers Naveen Chandra an all-around package role with different gamuts of emotions. Be it the intense drama, or smooth romance or small action scenes in between, he shines. There is an intensity and sincerity that can’t be missed. One only wishes it were part of an effective narrative.


Analysis
Parampara is a lengthy web series that is helmed by the director duo Krishna Vijay L and Vishwanath Arigella. Given the length, it makes sense to have two people handle the whole affair. Unfortunately, they fail to get a gripping narrative.

The problem doesn’t surface immediately, as the opening episode is fine. It draws one’s attention immediately to the story and the proceedings.

Parampara if seen from the perspective of Naidu is very ordinary, done to death and routine. However, when we see the same from Gopi’s viewpoint, there is a sense of freshness.

Again, there is nothing new, but this angle (Gopi versus Naidu) raises the stakes in the conflict. It is like a youngster taking on a powerful established institution. In Parampara, both happen to be from the same family giving a lot of scope for drama.

However, Parampara loses the plot when it comes to handling the high stakes. The execution is a miss. The direction and writing jointly get the blame here for lacking modern sensibilities. What we see here, as the narrative progresses, is outdated serial level dramatic proceedings. It reaches a peak towards the end.

After a good opening, Parampara gets progressively weaker. The story too moves forward in long gaps and the narrative feels stretched needlessly to such a long duration.

As said at the start, the drama and tension involving Gopi versus Naidu is the best part of the series. Apart from that, there are a few subplots that offer intrigue but, they haven’t been developed properly or withheld for a second season.

Additionally, the ambiguity between the relationship of the Naidu brothers creates little frustration. However, it is nothing compared to the way Suresh track evolves and his ‘oh-so-obvious’ rise reminiscent of dated kitsch.

The finale of Parampara takes the gaudy emotions to the next level. There is a lot of effort to create emotion, but it doesn’t feel right despite the sincere effort from key actors. The extreme predictability and outdated execution get the blame.

There is no denying the grand production and ambition of Parampara. But, it lacks the bite in writing and direction. Since there is a second season in the plan, one hopes the weaknesses are worked upon and we get taut and trendy intense drama.

On the whole, Parampara is a grandly mounted drama with power politics and crime background. If you like the genre, give it a try, but have the expectations low.


Others?
Sarath Kumar and Jagapathi Babu as brothers are good. Their unsaid undercurrent bonding is the invisible adhesive that holds the narrative together. Both are fine in their respective roles, but there is nothing out of the box so far. We have seen them do similar parts before too. Sritej and Prawin Yendamuri playing their younger versions are also apt casting choices and they too do well. Ishaan gets a powerful character, but the actor lacks the spunk to pull it off memorably.

Aakanksha Singh gets a good character that threatens to be more than eye candy in a series dominated by the males. Some parts of her track set things up for something big. However, it doesn’t happen. The actress goes through all that with ease and compose. She easily stands out among the female crowd.

Naina Ganguly plays a bold part with an emotional layer to it. She is fine on both counts, but the way the character turns out eventually is very routinely seen. Kasthuri, seen in parts, hams like no tomorrow during dramatic moments whereas Aamani feels underutilised despite a significant presence.

The rest of the cast featuring many known faces like Murali Mohan, Jogi Brothers and others are alright.

Music and Other Departments?
Naresh Kumaran’ music is okay. There are a few songs that come as part of the narrative which acts as speed breakers. The background score is comparatively better, in parts, but is mostly bland. SV Vishweshwar’s cinematography is neat. It highlights the grand production values adequately. The editing by Tammiraju needed to be sharper. A huge chunk could be removed from the proceedings by just removing the repetitive build-up shots. The writing by Hari Yelleti is weak, on the whole. However, there are bits (like the one explaining the Naval Supplies scam) that are neatly done. One only wishes there was more from where it came.


Highlights?
Grand Production Values
Casting
Core Conflict

Drawbacks?
Direction
Writing
Outdated Kitsch, In Parts
Length
Overstretched Narrative


Did I Enjoy It?

Yes, A Few Parts

Will You Recommend It?

Yes, But With Huge Reservations

Parampara Web Series Review by Siddartha Toleti