Balagam follows the story of a young man who plans to get engaged to receive a dowry which he would utilize to pay off his debts. This until, there is a death in the family to stall his proceedings. The story here is a solid drama veiled as a comedy. And the reason for the same is that while the drama does have streaks of dark comedy instilled in it, at its heart it is quite an emotionally draining drama that does tug the strings of your heart. Now, we have previously seen films centered around deaths too. Films like Ee. Ma. Yau. Or Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi have all had a deep impacted on the viewers with its neatly written drama and some interesting character dynamics that drive the story forward. And Balagam is no different. The screenplay standing at just above 2 hours does make for a compelling watch in a drama which is emotionally engrossing.

The drama does open with the introduction of one of the characters who is seen to be jovial and quite excited for his grandson’s engagement. And straight up, I did like how there was effort invested in the world building which was absolutely mandatory here. The leisurely paced drama does allow you time to soak in the setting and also get acquainted with the multiple characters which are introduced soon after. The character traits are unique and that does promise for an interesting character dynamics. Once the drama is set, you are introduced to the conflict with a tinge of comedy. The streaks of comedy will momentarily put a smile on your face during the funeral scenes.

The proceedings are engrossing and engaging and make for a thoroughly compelling watch. Funerals are generally a place of social gathering wherein barring the close family and a handful of others, the majority of the crowd does come to socialize besides paying their last respects. The general consensus is such that some people may not have been in touch with the individual, yet do step in to participate in the final journey of the individual. And that was represented quite well here. Also, I was keenly observing the proceedings given that I am a huge fan of culture. And here, the culture of rural Telangana was so well represented, so much so that I could draw parallels with certain parts of it. The drama was quite enriching and enlightening in the representation of the culture.

There is a gradual switch of genres as the drama begins to focus on a family tiff which adds a fresh angle to the character dynamics. The one upmanship to ego tussles was nicely represented in the drama. And that is when the drama begins to get a little emotional in its nature besides being slightly melodramatic(in a positive way). The events leading up to the final act are interesting followed by an extremely emotional final act that will force you to shed a tear. It almost does engulf you with a bunch of emotions that you will tend to overlook one of the subplots not getting a closure which really should have been addressed as well. But overall, the screenplay here is brilliantly penned with its heart in the right place.