Director Bobby Kolli’s “Daaku Maharaaj” is partially saved by Balakrishna and Shraddha Srinath’s performances, exquisite graphics, and deft action choreography.Filmmakers Boyapati Sreenu and Anil Ravipudi are responsible for Balakrishna’s comeback in recent films like Daaku Maharaaj Movie Akhanda and Bhagawant Kesari, which made the celebrity more approachable to the general public despite his outrageous eccentricities. Although the general tone of a typical Balakrishna movie hasn’t changed all that much, the new storytelling techniques have given tried-and-true formulas a new lease on life.
Balakrishna’s recent resurgence in films like Daaku Maharaaj Movie Akhanda and Bhagawant Kesari, which made the celebrity more approachable to the common people despite his extreme idiosyncrasies, is credited to filmmakers Boyapati Sreenu and Anil Ravipudi. While the overall mood of a typical Balakrishna film has not changed much, the new storytelling strategies have breathed fresh life into tried-and-true tropes.
Director Bobby Kolli clearly wanted a different visual style for a star-led vehicle in Daaku Maharaaj Movie. By the standards of popular Telugu masala potboilers, the action is smooth and stylized, the world-building is genuinely captivating, and the “punch lines” are sparse. Hero worship doesn’t seem forced; rather, it is weaved into the story.
The lack of confidence in the film’s execution makes it unsatisfactory despite these positive aspects. It doesn’t really embrace the new dictum or play to the gallery. The movie is unsatisfactory overall, yet a few scenes stand out and could be considered paisa vasool.
Daaku Maharaaj Movie:
The movie, which is set in a hill station close to Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, takes its time setting up the scene for the coming of the messiah. A local gangster couple threatens Vaishnavi, a girl who is the granddaughter of a powerful man. To protect the family, “Daaku” Maharaaj, a fugitive prisoner, poses as Nanaji, a driver. How do the thugs and the girl relate to Maharaaj’s violent past?.
It’s amazing how the movie announces the hero’s arrival without using an ego-boosting opening tune. A peek of the hero’s aura is provided by S Thaman’s too exuberant music score and the incisive speech that breaks up the action scenes. Similar to Balakrishna’s previous films (Jai Simha, Narasimha Naidu, and Bhagawant Kesari), the hero uses a little girl as an emotional conduit to vent his rage.
When things get too serious, there is comedy to lighten the mood (Satya is inebriated) and romance, when Balakrishna spanks Urvashi Rautela in a song that is titled after his catchphrase, “Dabidi Dibidi.” The child’s character adds some innocence—albeit occasionally caricature—to the mix between all the gore and duller moments.
Some of the tropes are reminiscent of films of the 90s and 2000s. A lion-hearted hero stands up for people of an arid land insulated from development and builds dams for them; every second girl in the region calls him ‘maamayya’ or ‘annayya’. Within this predictable framework, the equation between Maharaaj and the collector, Nandini (Shraddha Srinath), is a silver lining.
Daaku Maharaaj Movie:
The whole subplot, which revolves on a village’s water supply and the connection between marble quarries and a drug ring, is hurried and unauthentic. The remainder is essentially a formality as the movie shifts back to the present. Surprisingly, the raw images and risqué action choreography help Balakrishna’s restraint hold the weaker stretches together.
There are also numerous allusions to jungle creatures throughout the movie. In the interlude, Maharaaj’s imposing appearance is graphically likened as a wounded snow leopard. “When you shout, you bark… when I shout… (referring to roar)..,” “I hold a masters in murders,” and “When a lion and a deer face, it is not a fight… it is a hunt” are some of the phrases that add some vigor.
Daaku Maharaaj Movie:
A clear discrepancy exists between Daaku Maharaaj’s intended outcome and its actual state. The director’s traditional decisions frequently overshadow the myth-making and the images’ deftness. Other characters, such as the antagonist Balwant Singh Thakur, played by Bobby Deol, do not leave a lasting impact aside from Balakrishna and Shraddha Srinath’s Nandini.
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