Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya is not avant-garde. For all the efforts to package old wine in fresh bottle, it fails to pack the punch. True, emotions are mostly under-played, melodrama doesn't go over-the-board, scenes come with brevity, but somehow it ends up looking less than normally intense and curt. After a point, the novelty fades off as the audience realizes that if Sana were not X's muse as well, Y's weird romance with her would have seemed oldish.
Ajay plays a 35-year-old and he has his fantasies. He is a flirt like any other flirt, but his desires take him to a point where he fails to see that dishonesty has got the better of him. It takes a beloved for him to realize that he has become a slave of his selfishness in pursuit of his romantic interest.
Theme-wise, DCK is a welcome change from the kind of lame stuff we have been subjected to, of late. The narration however is not perfect and one feels there was an attempt at KISS (Keep it simple, stupid).
Naga Shourya plays a youngster who receives the shock of his life when everything seems to be going fine. He is timid and values relationships, but he has to delicately handle a bizarre scenario that could mar many lives if something goes wrong. As someone torn between two relationships, he gives a studied portrayal of a traumatized son and a dejected lover boy.
In its setting, the film gives us a light-touch peek into middle class values and limits. Through Ajay's character, we are told the engaging story of a person who could not assert his freedom two decades ago and who is now unable to resist his temptations. In Naga Shourya's character, one gets a peek into the mindset of a middle class youngster whose love for his mother makes him clandestinely harass the villain-cum-weak minded victim.
Indraja's beautiful performance comes next to Naga's in rank. She is the umpteenth evidence that women make better actors, any day. Watch out for the scene where she first asks her son to have food (like a mother) and then go out to look out for her husband, but changes her mind (like an anxious wife). Be it in striking the right chemistry with Ajay or in looking every bit a middle class lady, she is apt for the role.
Ajay's characterization is neat and the writer needs to be commended for not handling his unconscious degeneration wisely. As an actor though, he doesn't betray any unknown side of his. This film needed someone, a familiar face showing an unknown side of his.
Sana as Samhitha passes muster. Hers is not a performance-driven character but she is sizzling as a glam doll.
Brahmaji is convincing as ever. His character is used to evoke some laughter and also to, routinely, speak the pleasant truth of loving wife whatever the apparent skirmishes.
Keeravani's music gets well-represented on the screen, barring 'Anthe Premanthe', whose intensity warranted a better positioning.
Technically, it is not quite Sai Korrapati.
Verdict: A family entertainer that works fine.
Rating: 3.25/5
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