'Dasara' review: Nani in a stale revenge saga

Dasara

Telugu (Theatres)

Director: Srikanth Odela

Cast: Nani, Keerthy Suresh, Dheekshith Shetty, Shine Tom Chacko

Rating: 2.5/5

Karan Johar had once said that if one were to observe his promotions keenly, it's easy to judge the merit of the film he's promoting. He's to-the-point and low key if he has a good film in hand. Else, he's tries to salvage the film by trying hard to sell. This logic holds good for Nani and his latest release 'Dasara', which seems like Nani's attempt to ride the pan-India wave and cash-in. Notwithstanding the intention, Srikanth Odela's debut film forgets to carry enough fuel.

Set in Veerlapalli, a fictional town with the backdrop of a coal mine (which doesn't add much to the film except the black dust to its visuals) 'Dasara' is a story of revenge for the sake of friendship and love.

The story beats are atleast as old as the Ramayana itself and that may be most plausible reason for the film's title, barring the obvious 'good over evil' metaphor. Dasara celebrations are shown every now and then, the timeline in the film is tracked based on the number of Dasaras passed, yet what is it about Dasara and Veerlapalli remains unclear. If the film was titled so just for the visual appeal of the backshot of the hero standing in front of a massive burning Ravana effigy, then that's this film for you.

The story revolves around two women, Vennela played by Keerthy Suresh and Silk Smitha who provides the face and the name to 'Silk Bar', an all-day everyday hangout haven for all the men in Veerlapalli where drinking apparently is a custom not an addiction. 'Silk Bar' is also the political holy grail, a throne to capture.

Dharani played by Nani and Suri played by Dheekshith Shetty are best friends and they form the love triangle with Vennela (the earth, the sun and the moon) whom both of them have known since their childhood.

Chinna Nambi played by Shine Tom Chacko, the Sarpanch's son, is the common factor in both the threads for he's not only power hungry but also lusts for all women, especially Vennela.

With this set-up, the flow and the resolution is quite obvious, isn't it?

The film has a convoluted approach to its women characters, including Vennela. She's a teacher who steals eggs from the Anganwadi for her younger brother. She's brash and bold, atleast that is what we are supposed to gather from her speech and dance, however, in crucial moments she is extremely gullible. She suffers, blames, forgives, surrenders, all too easily.

There's a song about 'Silk Bar' and alcoholism, a song for a Hindu marriage, a song for a 'nikha' a cricket match, a commentary about caste, power struggle, a "grand" climax fight sequence and also an abruptly abandoned hero's narration. In an effort to desperately tick many boxes, this film ends up punching above the weight of its script.

'Dasara' is stylised, well choreographed, bizarre at times, nevertheless engagingly shot throughout by Sathyan Sooryan. The film is not fully bereft of positives. Dharani's characterisation is problematic yet interesting. The interval episode is brilliant. There's an objectionable marriage in the film which nevertheless works very well as a scene. Santhosh Narayanan's experimentation with different styles is enjoyable.

The actors, especially Nani, Dheekshith Shetty and Keerthy Suresh endure quite a lot physically and do their best to keep us hooked but this script which lacks emotional depth, thanks to its mundane screenplay, fails them beyond a point.

Shine Tom Chacko gets a one-dimensional role, Sai Kumar as Rajanna gets a cake walk, Samuthirakani as Shivanna gets funny denture.

On the whole, this 'Dasara' invites a big gathering, splurges on the feast, mounts a huge effigy but fails to bring a matchstick with a strong enough spark.