Dasara - A cocktail masala that has its moments
In the era of pan Indian films the audience gets access to a variety of content from all Indian languages. The latest in the offing is 'Dasara' that has Natural Star Nani and Keerthy Suresh in the lead who are quite popular in Kollywood. Whether this cocktail masala that mixes 'Paruthi Veeran', 'KGF' 'Pushpa' and 'Kantara' will strike a chord with the genre lovers remains to be seen.
The story opens in the 1990s in a town called Veerlapally in the background of the Singareni coal mines in Andhra Pradesh. There is a place called Silk Bar in memory of actress Silk Smitha in that town. Most of the village men drink and make merry there with the upper caste allowed inside the bar and the lower caste restricted to the outside. The Local politicians Rajanna (Sai Kumar) and Nambianna (Samuthirakani) and his son Chinna Nambi (Shine Tom Chacko) take turns in winning the local body elections and keeping things as they are. Childhood friends Dharani (Nani), Suri (Dixit Shetty) and Vennela (Keerthy Suresh) are involved in a love triangle. Both men love the girl and Dharani sacrifices his love because of the strong friendship of the upper caste Suri. his love. Dharani has a split personality being meek when normal and aggressive when he is drunk. Tragedy strikes and causes great anguish to both Vennela and Dharani coupled with the villains bent on wiping them out. What happens next is what 'Dasara' is all about.
Nani has donned the role of an alcoholic wastrel on the lines of Karthi in 'Paruthi Veeran' and Rishab Shetty in 'Kantara. But credit to him that he brings his own to Dharani especially the hard work put in with his body transformation and appearing throughout the film a little better than a beggar. The scenes in which he pines for Keerthy's character and at the same time loving his friend more dearly than her are the highlights. He is especially terrific in the climax fight where he is a volcano of emotions. Keerthy Suresh has once again proved what a brilliant actress she is even within the confines of commercial cinema. She has brought to life the innocent and at the same time exuberant Vennela who loves Suri with all her heart and maintains a good friendship with Dharani. Her dance moves to the festival music are a treat to watch and she is also very effective in the highly emotional scenes in the climax. Dheekshith Shetty as Suri is the perfect foil for both the lead actors and has come good in his own author backed role. Samuthirakani is wasted in an inconsequential role while Tom Shine Chacko as his lecherous son creates an impact as the chief antagonist. Sai Kumar and Poorna are the other familiar faces in the cast.
What works best in 'Dasara' is the strong friendship between the lead trio and the romantic conflicts and heartbreaks that arise from them. Multiple threads such as the evils of alcohol, village politics, caste discrimination etc are thrown open that keeps the first half interesting. The cricket match scene in which Nani first turns into a hero is whistle worthy. There are two contrasting action sequences during the interval block when Nani runs scared and the climax when he runs riot that are both riveting to watch.
On the downside, as mentioned above 'Dasara' reminds the viewer of too many movies which work against it. There are several logical loopholes including the important one as to why the heartless villain waits for twelve long years to force himself on the heroine. Post the interval the screenplay struggles to pay off all that it set up and things fall flat till the climax.
The major highlight of 'Dasara' is the energetic background score of Santhosh Narayanan that enhances to a great extent all the telling moments of the film. His songs are also fresh to Telugu audiences at least. Sathyan Sooryan is the backbone of the film with his excellent camera work right from setting the black tone in sync with the story to gravity defying movements in the stunt sequences. Naveen Nooli has tried his best to maintain the right pacing. Debutante Srikanth Odela in spite of the flaws has delivered a bonafide masala flick that manages to engage the audience. Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Cinemas has bankrolled the film with high production values.
Verdict : 'Dasara' will give a festive feel to pure masala lovers
