Rana Daggubati and Sai Pallavi in Virata Parvam. (Photo: PR Handout)In Virata Parvam, when Vennela (Sai Pallavi) tells her cousin, who also happens to be her fiance, that she is walking away from the wedding as she has fallen in love with another man, he blames her father. He says it’s his father who has spoiled her by encouraging her to read books. His comment is an indictment of the power of books in opening up the imagination of young minds, who are otherwise docile and gullible. It’s not easy for him to manipulate her into settling for a life that’s allowed to her by society, instead of pursuing a life that she desires to live.
It’s books that infuse the spirit of free mind in Vennela. And it’s books that show the man of her dreams, Ravanna (Rana Daggubati). She did not fallen in love with him, not because of his towering frame or for his looks or his reputation as a saviour of the weak. She falls in love with him over his revolutionary poems. She is head over heels in love with Ravanna and so she even adopts his religion: communism. She dedicates herself to the service of his god: revolution.
The same books that taught love to Vennela are also used by the cops to damn those who get killed in staged encounters. Those books are banned by the state. And the ones who read them are considered the enemy of the state. Vennela knows the risks and still chooses to leave behind her life of comfort and safety to find love that is hiding in the deepest parts of the jungles.
Vennela is a revolutionary in her own right. Her weapon is love, not guns and bullets. In the world of terror and treachery, not many could understand Vennela’s language of love. She is judged and people look at her as if she is gone crazy when she tells people about her desire to find Ravanna, confess her love for him and spend the rest of her life by his side. You can’t blame people entirely for not understanding her. Those who join the Naxal movement are usually the ones who have been wronged by the system. In other words, people seek out Naxalsim out of anger and vengeance. But, not every day, do they meet someone who seeks them out for the sake of love. Love in the jungle, with death following close behind, is difficult to understand. But, hey, the heart wants what the heart wants.
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Not just in jungles dominated by communism, Vennela can’t even fit in the system ruled by capitalism. She thinks less and feels more. In a materialistic world, where everyone is motivated by some sort of personal interest, Vennela comes across as an anomaly.
And Sai Pallavi does stand out in her character with her innate innocence that lights up the screen. It feels odd when you see her wielding a gun or lobbing a grenade at the cops. As you know, she doesn’t fit into this design of violence and bloodshed. Not for nothing, they say, everything is fair in love and war.
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