Rating: 3.5/5
Starring: Mahesh Babu,Samantha,Vennela Kishore,Abhimanyu Singh
Director: Srinu Vaitla
Producer: Achanta Ram, Achanta Gopinath ,Anil Sunkara
Banner: 14 Reels Entertainment
Music: Thaman
Story:
Mahesh (Ajay) is son of Shankar Narayan(Prakash Raj) a politician, but goes to a state of coma for 14 long years while fighting against goons Don Nayak(Sonu Sood ) and Kota Srinivasa Rao. Shankar desires to see his son as politician but Ajay turns as cop and tries to take revenge on Nayak. Meanwhile, Shankar Narayana gets out of coma and doctor advises Ajay to care of him as anything that upsets him might again cause him problems. So, Ajay hides all the incidents happened in these years and starts a new drama to make his father happy. How Ajay saves his father and takes revenge on Nayak is rest of the story.
Performances:
It’s Super Star Mahesh’s show all the way. Being blessed with good looks, Mahesh was dashingly handsome in Dookudu. Mahesh’s screen presence is amazing and carries off the movie with ease. He rocked in every scene and every frame and special mention for his extraordinary comic timing. Dookudu is one of Mahesh’s best performances.
Samantha is extremely gorgeous and her body language, costumes and make up were apt and tailor made for her role as a fashion designer. Though Samantha hasn’t got much scope for performance, it has been a delight to watch her in what she delivered.
Brahmanandam yet again entertains to full extent in this awe-inspiring role. A special mention to the SMS request scene, he is outstandingly hilarious. MS Narayana is just awesome. He is another asset to the movie and his spoof of Yama Donga, Magadheera, Simha, Robo is highly entertaining. Vennela Kishore is impressive, Kota, Thanikella Bharani, Nazar, Suman, Prakash Raj, Sonu Sood are regular. Sonia of Happy Days fame leaves her mark. Pragathi, Shiva Reddy were alright. Others were adequate.
Technicalities:
KV Guhan’s cinematography is top-rate and the exotic locales in the songs are well-shot. Dialogues by Kona Venkat are additional asset, few of them being hilarious. Thaman’s music is good but the background score could have been much better. Srinu Vytla’s direction was okay but despite roping in Super Star Mahesh, he has made a decent family entertainer without going for novel story. Nevertheless, he showcased Mahesh Babu’s characterization in a new dimension and handled it carefully. A better Screenplay in the second half and slick editing could have made wonders at the Box-Office. Production values of 14 Reels Entertainment banner are good.
Plus Points:
- Mahesh Babu
- Samantha’s glamour
- Brahmanandam, MS Narayana
- Dialogues
- Comedy
- Songs to an extent
Minus Points:
- Runtime
- Routine story
- Editing
Analysis:
Dookudu has been released with huge hype with peak high expectations. The film is a Srinu Vytla’s brand entertainer that lacks novelty in the script. The film’s climax resembles the Pokiri episode and the audience feels that the act is repeated while the fans might be delighted. Prakash Raj’s role has not been etched properly and few of the scenes take you to boredom. On the positive side, Mahesh carries of the film on his shoulders with his dialogues, comic-timing, fights, dance and his charisma. He has tried out his best to land the film in the safe zone. Brahmanandam and MS Narayana are other assets for the movie. Srinu Vytla tried to play safe by including all the ingredients of Glamour, sentiment, action, romance and comedy to more extent to make it as an entertaining fare. Unfortunately, the Father-son’s emotionality did not work as it has moved with slow pace. All in All, the first half of Dookudu is pretty good while the second half is average with bit dragging, though had its own engaging moments of humor. Comedy quotient saves Dookudu to a good extent. Don’t expect too high from Dookudu so that you’ll thoroughly enjoy it.
At the Box-Office, Dookudu has the high potentiality to end up as a good commercial hit. The movie has already taken bumper openings and is in the process of creating new records in few places. The producers have released the film in the right time cashing on Dussera season and it will hugely help in the collections.
Final Verdict:
A formulaic Srinu Vytla’s brand, yet Dookudu entertains if you excuse some flaws …
