Home Town Review: Rajeev Kanakala's series is a nostalgic attempt that feels repetitive

2/5

Home Town Story

Prasad (Rajiv Kanakala) owns a photo studio in Hanmanthula Gudem, a village in Telangana. He leads a middle-class life, and his only aim is to send his son, Srikanth (Prajwal Yadma), abroad for higher studies, hoping it will help him settle down successfully in life. However, Srikanth's academic performance has always been poor, from school to college. In contrast, his younger sister, Jyoti (Yani), excels in her studies. To make matters worse, Srikanth fails to earn his B.Tech degree. Will his father's dream of sending him abroad come true, or will circumstances take a different turn? Stream the five-episode series on Aha and OTTplay Premium to find out.

Home Town Review

Home Town is directed by Srikanth Reddy for Aha, and he chooses a simple feel-good drama to showcase a coming-of-age story. Such narratives typically have a single goal and predictable proceedings, but what sets them apart is the screenplay and presentation. In the case of Home Town, the setup and presentation are decent, but the predictability and routine moments drag the series down.

There is no denying that the makers attempted to emulate the iconic feel-good web series #90s by recreating similar family moments with a different core conflict. However, the scenarios, issues, and emotions remain largely the same. As a result, fans of #90s may find Home Town to be a repetitive watch with new characters and a different setup. That said, the casting of Rajeev Kanakala and Jhansi is spot-on. They own their roles and bring depth to the proceedings.

The series does have its share of endearing moments, particularly in how it portrays the youth. It effectively showcases how young people in villages were drawn to social media and the rise of new technology in 2003. A few jokes about cricket and the Swathi magazine land well, and the director successfully highlights the small conflicts between parents and their differing perspectives. 

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One of the major strengths of the show is how it portrays parents imposing their desires on their children without considering their feelings. Some emotional scenes toward the end, involving the sister and her role in the family's priorities, are well handled.

However, all of this comes at the cost of predictability. The college comedy, youthful jokes, and Facebook-related scenes are stretched excessively in the fourth episode, leading to boredom. In terms of performances, Rajeev Kanakala delivers a sincere act and excels as a devoted father. His character has slight negative shades, requiring an actor who can balance emotions well, and Rajeev does so skillfully.

 Jhansi plays the typical supportive mother and is good in her role, but she truly shines in the emotional moments. Prajwal Yajma is just about okay, and his casting for such a key role feels questionable. Though he struggles to emote initially, he improves as the series progresses. The actors playing his friends are passable, while the rest of the cast delivers decent performances without anything particularly noteworthy.

Suresh Bobbili’s background score is decent, and the cinematography effectively captures the bygone era with rustic visuals that serve as an asset. The editing is fine, keeping the five-episode series concise with episodes under 30 minutes each. The dialogues are impressive, and the production design is well-executed.

Overall, Home Town is a series with a routine storyline that could have benefited from more comedy and novelty. However, it falls into the “been there, done that” category, with most scenes evoking a déjà vu feeling rather than offering anything fresh or exciting.

Home Town Verdict

On the whole, Home Town is yet another coming-of-age drama that is predictable and has a routine presentation. While a few jokes and emotions click, the rest of series has nothing new to offer.

 Also Read: 7 Best Telugu OTT web series of 2024: #90s to Vikkatakavi