Daaku Maharaaj movie review: This Nandamuri Balakrishna star vehicle is slightly old wine in a dazzling new bottle (original) (raw)
Daaku Maharaj movie review: Nandamuri Balakrishna film is burdened by familiarity.
Daaku Maharaaj Movie Review: No one in Telugu cinema loves playing the saviour as much as Nandamuri Balakrishna. The more grave the injustice, the more weapons he can wield, the more henchmen he can kill, and the more noise his dialogues can make. Probably why he feels most at home in a Boyapati Srinu film which allows him to be all this and much more. In Bobby Kolli’s latest, Daaku Maharaaj, Balakrishna is a do-gooder with a strong emotional core. He is a doting guardian of a young girl who seems to effortlessly put a smile on his face. And yes, he is also a saviour who saves an entire district from brutal oppression, wields fascinating weapons, kills hundreds of henchmen in innovatively gory ways, and says lines like, “If you shout, it is barking… if I shout…” and Thaman inserts a lion’s roar in the background score. Daaku Maharaaj is the quintessential Balakrishna film, but it is burdened by the hangover of a number of films including Rajinikanth’s Jailer, Kamal Haasan’s Vikram, and the ‘God of Masses’ own filmography.
The writing of Daaku Maharaaj’s first half is quite impressive considering how it is its own complete film even though we haven’t yet been introduced to Balakrishna’s titular character. We are asked to be content with his role as Nanaji, a man with a violent past, who has no qualms about exhibiting a violent present either. While this allows team Daaku Maharaaj to go crazy with the visuals and the stunt choreography, the first half follows the beats we have seen in many such films. Nevertheless, the movie continues to tick all the right boxes because Bobby understands the star power of Balayya and constructs a narrative that allows him to be the same-old wine in a brand new and flashy bottle. What’s truly interesting about these portions is not knowing what is the reason behind Nanaji becoming the protector of this family and the little kid, Vaishnavi. It is a neat little backstory that is wonderfully woven into the narrative that adds a lot of emotional heft to a swashbuckling role.
If the Jailer hangover wasn’t obvious enough, there is a character who says the line, “Ardhamaaindha Raja,” and Thaman’s background score, in more places than one, seems to be heavily inspired by Anirudh’s score from the Rajinikanth starrer. The presence of Shine Tom Chacko as a trigger-happy cop looks like a mirror image of Fahadh Faasil’s role from Vikram. And yet, despite the deja vu, the fiery presence of Balakrishna keeps everything together.
Also, it is interesting how Nandamuri Balakrishna’s films are inherently dichotomous in nature. In the same film where we have women playing strong characters like a defiant district collector (Shraddha Srinath), a gutsy engineer (Pragya Jaiswal), a brave warrior, a courageous guardian (Chandini Chowdhry), a daring young girl unfazed by adversity, we also have a character played by Urvashi Rautela, who only exists for the “Dabidi” song. It is disappointing that the makers thought this character was necessary. It makes even lesser sense when we understand the reason why Nanaji is in the house. It doesn’t help that the character is actually a cop.
Nevertheless, the movie truly shifts to a different level when the story about why Nanaji had to become the dreaded Daaku Maharaaj plays out rather interestingly. That entire sequence, although a tad too long, has all the makings of an elevation that turns its star into a messiah. It is a celebration of all things Balakrishna, and he is given a fully-packed arsenal to go berserk in his action avatar. In fact, every action sequence looks out of the world thanks to Vijay Kartik Kannan’s top-tier cinematography. In fact, it is the technical wizardry of the team that elevates this rather template revenge drama into something else altogether.
Bobby Deol plays the primary antagonist in Daaku Maharaaj, and he oscillates between a crass and a suave villain but the writing doesn’t always support his machinations. But when it does, it is a sight to behold. Take, for instance, the final showdown between Bobby and Balakrishna is shot so exquisitely. The usage of the location, the grey and white contrast, and the visuals of the hand-to-hand combat with guns and pistols are beautifully captured. In fact, the highlights of the movie are each of the stunt sequences, which wonderfully uses the different terrains of the film, and mixes natural elements to heighten the stakes. Sand storms, forest fires, barren lands, closed factories, lavish palaces and even empty hospitals make excellent locations for inventive stunt sequences, and full points to Bobby and Co for making it a visual treat.
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However, the writing leaves us with an overwhelming sense of deja vu. Even the punch dialogues, barring the one that goes, “The predator should give the warnings, not the prey…” don’t often register because they are not something we haven’t heard before. The stakes are never really high for Balakrishna’s character despite facing a formidable foe. The narrative is too convenient, and the emotional heft needed to be much more effective for it to come together. No one would bat an eyelid if physics is defied, but there is only so much logic than can be overlooked.
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Basically, Daaku Maharaaj had all things in place for a gripping social drama that looks a million bucks, but it crumbles under the weight of the familiar because sound and sight can only do so much to a film that never takes flight.
Daaku Maharaaj Movie Cast: Nandamuri Balakrishna, Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Srinath, Bobby Deol
Daaku Maharaaj Movie Director: Bobby Kolli
Daaku Maharaaj Movie Rating: 2.5 stars