Dilruba Movie Review

Kiran Abbavaram scored a good hit with KA. High on confidence, he signed back-to-back films and one of them is Dilruba, a romantic action drama directed by debutante Viswa Karun. The film has Rukshar Dhillon and Kathy Davison as the female lead. Dilruba has been released alongside, Nani’s Court – State vs. A Nobody. Read our review here.

Plot

Siddhu (Kiran Abbavaram), scarred by a tragic past, has no place for ‘Sorry’ or ‘Thank You’ in his life. After a painful breakup with Maggi (Kathy Davison), he moves on and joins an engineering college in Mangalore. There, his classmate Anjali (Rukshar Dhillon) falls for him, and he eventually reciprocates. Just as things seem smooth, a minor college altercation sparks a rift, leading to their breakup. Adding to the chaos, Maggi returns to India upon hearing the news, while a ruthless goon, Joker (John Vijay), sets his sights on Siddhu. How Siddhu overcomes these hurdles and wins back Anjali forms the crux of the story.

Performances

Kiran Abbavaram is a natural talent, and Dilruba gives him ample scope to showcase his skills, allowing him to dance, fight, and deliver mass dialogues. Though the elevation aspect feels a bit overdone, Kiran delivers a sincere performance. Rukshar Dhillon makes a strong comeback, looking stunning and handling her meaty role with honesty.

However, the biggest letdown is Kathy Davison as the second lead. She is completely miscast and utterly expressionless, making her performance fall flat. A well-known Telugu actress would have made a world of difference. Meanwhile, Satya’s comedy fails to land, and John Vijay, who plays the main villain, is excessively loud to the point of being cringe-worthy. His impact on the film is far from impressive.

Technical Aspects

Dilruba boasts impressive visuals, and credit goes to the makers for not compromising on this aspect. The choice of locations, the backdrop, and the production design are all top-notch. Sam CS delivers a decent soundtrack, and the background score is effective. However, the editing is a major letdown—nearly twenty minutes from the first half could have been trimmed. Viswa Karun has penned the story, and while the concept works on paper, the screenplay and execution fail to deliver.

Positives

Kiran Abbavaam’s performance

Production values

Negatives

Boring narrative

Loud performances

Lack of novelty

Silly proceedings

Analysis

Dilruba marks the directorial debut of Viswa Karun, who explores the concept of a protagonist who refuses to say “sorry.” While this idea seems intriguing on paper, its execution falls flat almost immediately. The film starts well, establishing the hero’s breakup, his philosophy, and his approach to life. However, once the setting shifts to a college in Mangalore, the narrative becomes tedious. The love track is outdated, offering nothing fresh, and the comedy by Satya fails to entertain.

The conflict itself is weak, and it’s evident that the director struggled to build up to it. Instead, he forces a trivial college fight, leading to a breakup just because the hero refuses to apologize to the cops. These flimsy conflicts further derail the film’s momentum. Things take an even more absurd turn when the hero’s ex-girlfriend returns to India to help him with an unconvincing and illogical subplot.

Kathy Davison, in a crucial role, is completely ineffective, delivering a wooden performance with zero expressions. Adding to the film’s woes, a villainous angle is shoehorned in with John Vijay as Joker. His exaggerated acting and cringe-worthy dialogues are so off-putting that audiences begin walking out of the theater.

Amidst all this chaos, Kiran Abbavaram is the only redeeming factor. He delivers a commendable performance, particularly excelling in an intense interval fight sequence. His action scenes stand out, but beyond that, Dilruba lacks the essential elements of romance, comedy, or gripping emotions needed for a commercial entertainer.

Ultimately, Dilruba had the potential to be a decent entertainer, but the director squanders it within the first fifteen minutes, turning the film into a dull and forgettable affair.

Bottom Line: Good concept gone haywire

Rating: 2.25/5

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