Daaku Maharaaj Review - A Crowd Pleasing Mass Actioner!

Ashwin Ram

Daaku Maharaaj is an action drama starring Nandamuri Balakrishna and Bobby Deol in lead roles. Directed by Bobby Kolli of Waltair Veerayya fame and the music is scored by Thaman.

Premise:

Balakrishna presents himself as a driver to be a protector of a little girl. How they are connected in the past, the revelation of Balayya’s true character Daaku Maharaaj and the conflicts with Bobby Deol form the crux of the story.

Writing/ Direction:

 Director Bobby Kolli has fronted the story and has boosted the hero by creating enough drama around the central character. The mass elevations work tremendously well, not because of the blind buildup shots with thumping score alone, the situations contribute majorly for the euphoric atmosphere. The writing is clever, being intact with the perfect commercial meter for both fans and the general public to enjoy. Apart from the crowd pleasing theatre elements in the first half, a genuine effort is evident in the other aspects too, the interestingly presented parallel narrative of Shine Tom Chacko’s investigation track for example. There are proper setups and powerful payoffs for multiple story arcs in the flow. The usage of props in various scenes add up to the momentum. There are a handful of flaws like a couple of scene orders appearing randomly, a bizarre placement of an item number in the middle of a tense situation and a few incomplete sequences left halfway, but these factors don’t really affect the totality of the movie. The lengthy flashback where the core of the subject relies is conveyed in a fulfilling manner. Leisurely paced, yet the emotions are translated well by neatly establishing the main conflict. The rise of the ‘Daaku Maharaaj’ character and the backstory behind it offers a big bundle of joy. The geography is crystal clear, which organically explains the social angle and convinces us logically. The ending of the flashback is dragged to an extent and the climax feels a bit rushed. Again, these are thankfully just minor hiccups amidst the hot and happening highlight events of the film.

Performances:

Balakrishna’s screen presence is utilized to a great extent, man’s dialogue delivery and an attitude of his own are served in an enjoyable manner. The heroines Shraddha Srinath and Pragya Jaiswal might not take the centre stage, yet each of them have a moment or two to incorporate to the key part of the story. Even Urvashi Rautela, who is predominantly used for the glamour quotient gets a vital action stretch at the interval. Shine Tom Chacko who hunts down the hero gets to be part of portions that are peculiarly approached. Bobby Deol’s characterization is single dimensional, however the crimes he commits make him an impactful baddie.

Technicalities:

Though not great, Thaman’s songs are decent. He has done heavy duty with the background score, the heroic moments are uplifted to a huge extent by his solid music and high-voltage bass sounding. Superb visuals, is supportive to the storytelling and the majority of Balayya’s slow-motion shots are so memorable with an additional help from the live locations and set properties. Fine editing too with no big dip in the flow, smooth transition shots and the placement of certain plot setups at the payback time make a mark. Many admirable frames in the stunt sequences, incorporating the story aspects during the fights are smartly done, but the actions become pretty generic over the course.

Bottomline

Familiar storyline presented in an engaging way with all the necessary masala elements to provide a satisfying commercial flick. The dramatic stretches work neatly and the hero elevations land as sureshot theatre celebration moments.

Rating - 3/ 5