Dhamaka review: Ravi Teja plays to his strengths in this tolerable entertainer

2.5/5

Story:

One of the most revered CEOs in the country, Nanda Gopal Chakravarthi is diagnosed with a terminal disease and is expected to live for only two months. While there’s curiosity around the company’s future successor, the hot favourite to take Nanda Gopal’s legacy forward is his son Anand Chakravarthi. JP, a crooked businessman, though, is committed to using his entire wherewithal to take over the company. What will Anand do to secure the company’s future?

Review:

Dhamaka is exactly what you would call the ‘Ravi Teja-meets-Trivikram’ genre. There are mansions, issues surrounding successors, internal conspiracies in households and then there are middle-class people who’re always content in their worlds. People are only of two kinds - good and bad. A large-hearted saviour stands up for the family at the right moment to resolve a crisis. What if such a setup has the unapologetic energy you associate with a quintessential Ravi Teja fare? That’s Dhamaka for you.

It has been a while since Ravi Teja stepped out of his comfort zone or rediscovered himself but Dhamaka’s director Trinadha Rao Nakkina is in no mood to experiment. Prasanna Kumar Bezawada gives him a script that Ravi Teja could’ve performed blindfolded. It milks his strengths - his comedy timing and ease with action. The plot is a mishmash of many films - from Rowdy Alludu to Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo - although the mix is tolerable and entertaining than Ravi Teja’s recent outings.

Right from the visual aesthetics to storytelling tropes to the idea of heroism, Telugu mainstream filmmakers have continued to borrow heavily from the 70s/80s era of Hindi and Telugu cinema for masala entertainers. Dhamaka, at the risk of being labelled dated, too uses these ideas to good effect for the most part. Yes, the film isn’t without the crassness that has crept into Ravi Teja’s oeuvre lately but the entire cast has a blast, acting sans apprehension in this no-holds-barred universe.

While, the film, at heart, is a conspiracy drama around the successor of a company, it gets an entertaining ‘double role’ twist with Ravi Teja playing both the rich son and the much-loved middle-class family man. In the director’s terms – one for the classes, another for the masses. The contrast is indeed striking. One Ravi Teja is tipped to be the future CEO of a company and another is on the hunt for a job after being sacked from his position.

Prasanna, the writer, may not have penned a novel script but he sure knows how to keep a restless viewer at bay, coming up with one wacky scenario after the other and backing it up with a series of comic gags, catchy verbal banters. Despite the predictability, the screenplay surprisingly doesn’t run out of fuel. The pre-intermission portions give Ravi Teja complete license to go berserk with the romantic track and he’s in good form with his ‘casual arrogance’ being surrounded by a bunch of oddball characters.

This setup works because there’s no pretension – this is home territory for both the director and the actor, their sensibilities are so alike that this collaboration was destined to happen. If only they had a plot that didn’t feel this derived, Dhamaka could’ve been blockbuster material. Another issue with recent Ravi Teja films, including Dhamaka, is the absence of a solid challenge (or could we say antagonist) – he is the know-it-all and nothing can threaten him. He has been so over-utilised in this mass entertainer genre after Kick that the magic is somewhat amiss.

However, the biggest surprise of Dhamaka is Sreeleela. In an out-and-out Ravi Teja vehicle that doesn’t demand much out of her, she still charms with her screen presence, is a natural with comedy and at her energetic best in the dance sequences. In short, she exhibits all qualities one expects out of a mainstream film heroine. Sachin Khedekar and Jayaram use their experience well to give some personality to their cardboard-ish characters.

The supporting cast complement the leads effectively. While Rao Ramesh and Hyper Aadhi steal the show, the regulars, right from Tanikella Bharani to Tulasi to Pavitra Lokesh, Posani Krishna Murali and Praveen, are as dependable as ever. Chirag Jani is passable in a reasonably meaty role. Bheems Ceciroleo’s songs, shot delectably by cinematographer Karthik Gattamneni, work better for the big screen than as standalone music tracks.

Verdict:

Dhamaka lacks a novel plot but it gives exactly what would one expect from a typical Ravi Teja entertainer and a director like Trinadha Rao Nakkina, who has films like Cinema Choopista Mama and Nenu Local under his belt. Sreeleela proves to be a natural with comedy and the song-dance routine, continuing her good form after Pelli SandaD. However, the star of the show is Prasanna Kumar Bezawada, with his terrific one-liners and an entertaining screenplay.