Suma's Jayamma Panchayati released without much buzz and I don't know if many people have caught it. I initially resisted watching it but it's honestly a decent OTT watch, I was surprised that it was not that bad, though it isn't flawless.
Vijay Kumar Kalivarapu's Jayamma Panchayati is a village drama which is largely revolving around the central story of Jayamma who is trying to collect the money for the heart surgery of her husband. To achieve this she uses the village tradition of gift money from celebrating her daughter's menarche. At the same time two minor stories are running parallel to Jayamma's. One is of Ganapathi Babu who is a non-Brahmin under guise and working as a priest in Rama temple. The other is of a boy who is said to have been put under a curse by the ayurvedic practitioner of the village, though he is thought to have been performing black magic.
The plots of the movie are quite interesting, however, the execution is decent only, it's not perfect. The plots could have been better integrated in my opinion, the way each one overlaps felt a little jarring at a few points. The ending Naxalite sequence also seemed a little unnecessary, especially because it merely elevates Jayamma without concluding the childhood love of Yesu and Pushpa. The ending could have been better designed overall. The final scene seemed to undo a lot of the film as they are back at square one, didn't make it seem so fulfilling. However, apart from the main premise the others were dealt with pretty well in my opinion. Even the main premise is quite well dealt with until the final third of the film in my opinion.
What I really like about the film is the aesthetic. The movie has you believing the village and the villagemen to be from there. Suma starts off feeling a little out of place, but after a few minutes she finds her footing. All the actors performed quite well, except Dinesh Kumar, he felt a little out of place the whole time.
The movie despite sounding heavy takes a more lighthearted route and avoids getting too emotional. The dialogue helped with this, though the dialogue was natural and felt rural, they maintained a lighthearted tone. It is probably better described as a dramedy in some ways. However the laughs don't feel unnaturally placed in.
Overall this is a decent village dramedy, which is a fine fun watch for OTT audience. If you are bored and want a simple, Telugu movie to watch for the evening, Jayamma will be a fine watch especially if you can overlook some of the minor issues (plot conveniences, jarring ending, etc.).
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