'Dongata' threatens to end up as a mediocre crime comedy with a smattering of old-style melodrama thrown in but the ending is satisfying because the plot thickens to become a tricky ‘dongata’, true to the title.  If the interval bang doesn’t look as stunning as the makers might have liked, the last 25 minutes or so makes up for the paucity of novelty felt hitherto.

Shruti (Lakshmi Manchu) is a film actress and she comes with an offscreen modesty and onscreen feistiness.  Three youngsters, Venkat (Adivi Sesh), Madhu and Prabhakar hatch a plot to kidnap her for a ransom of Rs. 10 Cr.   The bumbling threesome successfully execute the plan, but the entry of Brahmi, the self-styled detective with low IQ levels, and possessing occasional clairvoyance and compulsively lecherous behaviour, can put them in danger.  The catch is that the flat where Shruti is held in captive is owned by Brahmi himself!  They now have to get hold of the big amount they have demanded of the actress’ mother even while putting Brahmi in a fix by cleverly making him a partner of their crime.

As the big twists go in films, a clear execution of the twist stands to the film’s credit.  Moth-eaten narration of orphan-hood/jilted parents’ saga as well as measured narration of mind games co-exist like chalk and cheese here.

The director banks on some regular elements to pep up the proceedings.  Brahmi, true to his comically confident and funnily timid style, shows spark.  After a while, though, he is reduced to doing pedestrian comedy and some double entendre with the underrated actor Prithvi Raj in tow.  As for Pragathi she gets to play a character with no performance credentials required, thankfully.  Brahmi’s tryst with Rana (‘Mee father ela unnaru?  Mee babai ela unnaru? Mee girlfriends ela unnaru?) evokes some laughter and that’s all.

Between Brahmi and Prithvi Raj, the latter clearly has hitherto unexplored talent in him.

Lame parody (read the brief Bollywood song involving Brahmi and his muse), lame drunken over-acting (read Lakshmi Manchu’s ‘lechindi, nidra lechindi mahila lokam’ moment and the ‘female shakti’ stuff), the constant referencing of Brahmi as ‘pottodu’, Jayaprakash Reddy’s imbecile comedy should have been avoided.

The guest appearance of one too many stars/starlets could have got a major fillip had the song been better picturized and with some good music.  Nagarjuna, Ravi Teja, Nani, Simbu, Manchu Manoj, Rana, Tapsee Pannu, Navdeep don’t make for the lost opportunity in terms of music.

If the scenes don’t look first-rate by any measure, the story is a saving grace.  Laskhmi is surely an actress with good potential.  She shows sharpness, especially in the climax scenes.  Adivi Sesh, till now sleepwalking through his role (perhaps a conscious effort at looking subtle in retrospect), shows chutzpah and matches up to Lakshmi, whose Shruti could be a tribute to Soundarya’s tomboyish avatar in Kodi Rama Krishna's 'Dongata'.

Verdict: For a film that begins like a glib crime comedy with no signs of intelligent screenplay, the climax scenes are a revelation.  Expecting rib-tickling moments would be a mistake, though.

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