There is a lot of freedom attached to ‘Socio-fantasy’ genre as there’s no place for logic here. Film-makers can expand the horizon of their imagination and show whatever they feel that fits in the story. They can go overboard in every possible way, but there’s a method in which they have to make the end-product palatable. Though this genre defies all the logic, there should be a logical flow of events. The moments of glory come in the form of the visual grandeur and the series of events that unfold to drive the narration allowing the viewer to wear an imaginative cap. Their beliefs should be exalted and not enervated, esp. when this genre has a divine element in it. In the past, all the socio-fantasy films that were successful stayed true to the aforesaid facts.
Damarukam begins with an impressive narration - coupled with animation – of our mythology and takes you into the story. The fatal flaw in narration lies here and the premise falls flat miserably. After watching the first 15 minutes of the film, you will understand what’s in store for the next 2+ hours and that leads to zilch imagination at the viewer’s end. When everything is out in the first few minutes, the story demands a taut screenplay for an engrossing experience but with so many loose ends in its narration this film garners many ill-mouthed superlatives.
King Nagarjuna makes a macho entry in a Jason Statham like The Transporter role but that is not taken forward in a better fashion. Later on, in the movie, he’s shown doing nothing. So it’s only for his introduction that sequence has been forced. That shows the undercooked characterization of the writer – director. Nag looks stylish but his poor dancing skills again become the bone of contention and few mass numbers bite the dust for this very reason.
Anushka gets a decent role and the entire story revolves around her. Her introduction amidst vedic chants is elegant. Though she gets a lot of screen space, there are only few likable moments of the actress. She is a bit de-glamorized compared to her earlier outings, but blasts her way out in the songs. She sizzles on screen in the foot-tapping number Kanya Kumari and the baton is passed over to Charmee in Sakku Bhai.
Ravi Shankar in the role of Andhakasura steals all the brownie points from other actors. His appearance intimidates Anushka (in the film) and the viewers alike. He is near perfect in his histrionics, body language, and pulls off his performance with aplomb.
Prakash Raj with his radiant smile shines all through the movie as Lord Shiva, but the way he is thrown into some forced situations makes things horrendous. A demon challenging the God is one such inane moment in the film. The scenes involving him and Brahmanandam are lackadaisical.
The comedy track is bland. Neither Nagarjuna nor the bunch of comedians manages to evoke laughter. Except the spoof on Teleshopping ads directed by 30 years industry experience director Pitchi Kaki and the witty timing of Krishna Bhagawan there isn’t much to offer from the comedy department.
The film’s lifeline is its visual panache and esp. the graphics work that gives an out-of-the-world experience in the last 20 minutes. You realize the effort put in by director Srinivasa Reddy and the VFX team in creating such a marvel. Cinematography by Chota K Naidu is classy and welcoming. The DI work, sharp imagery, canning the exotic locales in Nesthama song takes all the applause. Gowtham Raju’s editing looks ordinary – Just after the hero’s intro fight, the way the scene cuts to Sakku Bhai tea center makes you recall loads of such shoddy works in the past.
DSP is the USP of the film. His golden jubilee offering comes with lot of surprises. The BGMs are phenomenal and with lot of usage of damaru in his score he stays close to the movie’s theme. Songs on Lord Shiva along with the god-pleasing numbers rendered by Shankar Mahadevan are full of devotion. With its rhythmic soul Laali Laali sweeps you off your feet. In Nesthama Nesthama Devi Sri Prasad displays his mastery over the craft with his ability to play with strings. He strikes gold with his core competency of churning mass numbers - Sakku Bhai and Kanya Kumari – leaving many text book examples of usage of flute and veena in such songs.
Bottom-line: Watch Damarukam for its visual-grandeur replete with graphics, striking camera work and commendable re-recording. Poor screenplay, lack of romance between the lead pair, left-in-the-middle sister sentiment, no proper connection among some scenes result in an excruciating movie watching experience. But the movie is a laudable effort in terms of bringing bits-and-pieces of Hollywood flicks such as Indiana Jones, The Fifth Element, The Mummy and many others rolled into one Telugu film.
My Rating: Expectation - 7/10; Reality – 4/10.
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