Rating: **
Lang: Kannada (U/A)
Film: Dalapathi
Cast: Prem Kumar, Krithi Karabandha, Krushi Thapanda, Padmaja Rao, Sharat Lohitashwa, Chikkanna, Sanketh Kashi
Director: Prashanth Raj
Seeking a makeover from his regular chocolaty cupid boy image is Prem aka Nenapiralli Prem, with Dalapathi. And director Prashant Raj, who too is known for his own brand of mushy romances, has more than willingly obliged.
The result is that Dalapathi sees Prem flexing his muscles and biceps throwing a few hard punches in this action surcharged fare, that turns Prem into a rough and tough beau who will not take any injustice lying low.
Conveniently falling between two stools of a sing-song romance and a full-fledged high decibel action fare, Dalapathi turns out a rather tiresome fare that tries audiences' patience.
Shot on eye-catching lush verdant locations, Dalapathi is bascially a romance drama that flowers between Ram and Vaidehi.
But then filmi romances are never straight out of the book, where they live happily ever after without any hiccups and hurdles.
Providing that twist and sting in the tangy tale in an otherwise blissfuly lovey-dovey saga is Prashant Raj making audiences, as also Vaidehi wonder, whether Ram is really the guy he seems to be. Also the film spotlights on how Ram wages a bravado battle for his love Vaidehi in order to bring justice to her family.
Of course, spicing up action and romance you have the comedic interludes what with Chikkanna around, besides being shot on beautiful locations taking viewers a visual extravaganza.
Where both Prem and Raj falter is in trying to make Dalapathi a massy movie with in-between comic relief, not to forget the song and dance interludes to provide a break from the derring-do drama.
Also the film is not structured properly. The film takes off with a family on trial in court before jumping off tangentially into a love story. How these two disparate events are connected and what happens to the parties connected in the drama, forms the rest of the plot.
Also the film could have been cut by half hour to make it watchable. Prem is in his elements, while Kriti Kharbanda looks like a angelic fairy as a pretty prop. That said, Dalapathi is strictly for Prem's fans.
