Dasara Movie Review – Raw, Rustic And Nani’s Rampage

Natural Star Nani is coming with Dasara in a new rugged look in a raw and rustic backdrop. In the direction of newcomer Srikanth Odela, the talented actor seemed very confident in the output. The trailer raised curiosity all over. The movie was released in theaters today and here is the review from the US premieres.

What Is It About?

A village in coalmine backdrop, Veerlapalli is in the clutch of politics and alcohol addiction of villagers. Dharani (Nani) and Suri (Deekshith Shetty) are childhood friends. Dharani falls in love with Vennela (Keerthy Suresh), but she loves Suri. The focus shifts toward Dharani and Suri after the politics between big heads involve them coincidentally. Dharani gets a shock of his life amid many twists. What happened to him and how does he fight back? This forms the story of Dasara.

Performances

Nani is one gem of an actor and proved it umpteen times. In Dasara, Nani reinvented himself and we see only Dharani from beginning to end. Undoubtedly Dasara remains Nani’s best performance so far. From the accent and appearance to emotional scenes and action sequences, Nani excelled in each and every frame. There are many highlight scenes of Nani where he snatches the show with his onscreen brilliance. Keerthy Suresh’s acting prowess could be seen alongside the scenes with Nani. Deekshith Shetty gives an on-par show with Nani and his terrific presence makes quite an impression. The leading trio’s performances are that pushes Dasara to the next level.

In other actors, Sai Kumar and Samthurakani get very limited roles and they did fine. The friends’ gang of Dharani is good. Shine Tom Chacko looked ordinary and could have been more vivid and striking.

Technicalities

We have seen many films with rustic backgrounds and raw characters. Dasara is not just one of them but also a technically remarkable and superior one. The cinematography is top-notch. From the frames where we see the roads around the quarry to the sunset shots, the inland feel is so well maintained to level with the narrative. The dark-lit mood stays throughout the movie and that tone also sets the premise. The background music is excellent and it raises the graph during the action sequences. The screenplay is good. Chamkeela Angeelesi song is impressive in every bit.

Thumbs Up

Nani
Cinematography
Action Scenes
Interval & Climax
Background music

Thumbs Down

Villain
Slow narration in some parts
Straightforward story

Analysis

Nani did not just act so well for Dasara but also promoted it like never before. He had been telling that he instantly liked the narration and went ahead with it. Dasara is pretty much a straightforward story with fewer twists and more emotions. Nani along with Keerthy Suresh and Deekshith Shetty managed to keep it high with their exceptional performances.

The first half of the movie builds the premise with more of the friendship between Nani and Dharani. The pace falls down most of the time in the first half until the pre-interval. The story keeps moving but there are places where it gives the dragged feel. The pre-interval block twist is a surprise and that particular shot is sure to leave an impact. The engaging graph that falls with the love failure song comes back to form with the chase and the killings before the interval. The interval block sets the right arena for the second half.

The audience in the US could have the real raw feeling intended due to the lack of censor cuts. The second half has its own lows and highs. The emotions play high most of the time than the plot twists do. A Dasara-like film from a new director is promising.

The authentic taking and captivating performances from the lead actors work well for Dasara, but the story has too many concepts to be dealt with. The concepts of friendship, caste, and political gamble later get overshadowed by love and then lust. Dasara ultimately emerges as a revenge drama though everything else could mislead the audience from guessing the plot conspiracy. The mix of one too many concepts might be thought of as adding a range of narrative possibilities, but that left the original thread a sloppy one. Dharani’s forgetfulness and courage when he gets drunk is a motif the director had been carrying from the start. The director might have wanted to address that and hence the closure on alcohol addiction.

Coming to the presentation, the director maintained the theme and setting effectively from start till the end. The dark-lit setting and the minute details like party symbols changing in Silk Smitha’s painting do not let the audience deviate from the setting. The villain character appears flat where it should be intense and powerful. While the other lead cast is performing top-notch, the villain character appears weak and inferior mostly. Only the director knows if the characterization is intentional.

The climax of Dasara is one that steals the show. It is a never-before action-packed massacre from Nani and he appears monstrous with a weapon in hand. Overall, Dasara has a common story with an emotional ride and a blend of bewitching action in parts, but it is Nani’s radiance that makes this Dasara blazing.

Bottomline: Raw, Rustic And Nani’s Rampage

Rating: 3/5