Film, Review, Telugu

Dohchay

A young man (Naga Chaitanya) sets out to make a fast buck to support his sister’s education and more importantly, to prove his jailed taxi driver father’s  innocence.

In Tollywood, timing is everything. Dohchay, starring Naga Chaitanya, gets that right. It’s summer and exams are just over. Youngsters aren’t really asking for the moon in terms of entertainment, but just a regular, youthful movie with some action and comedy to unwind. The film manages to fit into this simple slot without much ado.

In contrast to Trivikram’s S/O Satyamurthy, which released last week and extolled virtues such as honesty and integrity, Dohchay (meaning Rob It!) is about how being a Mr Goody Two Shoes would, at best, only give you a shoe-bite. The movie moves on the credo that it’s better to be the one who cons than get conned. Kaun kisko kab kyon con karta hai forms the CONvincing part of the movie. And it has to be said that Director Sudheer Varma’s signature style shows up in the con scenes.

Considering most young cinegoers love sarcasm rather than free lectures on life, Dohchay sounds and feels like a movie for Generation X. And since today’s robbers love to have a well-rounded life, of course, there’s obviously the need to have a love interest (Kriti Sanon, a medico). Their scenes, like at the supermarket etc, look sleek and are well-handled without unnecessary melodrama. The only thing that disappoints is Chaitanya”s drawling dialogue delivery, especially in the scenes where he has to impress the girl.

The first half moves fast, mixes its various elements nicely, and is entertaining enough, However, the second one could do some editing, especially the stunts in the climax. Sudheer Varma’s forte is obviously the heist scene (shot to precision) and since that is the core of the movie, he fares okay there. The rest of the scenes, however, needed that extra zing.

Chaitanya should be seen, not heard. He looks nice in his hoodies, has a likable enough screen presence, but his charm goes a notch lower the minute he talks. His dialogue delivery is something he has to work on, and fast. Kriti Sanon is cute and pulls off her role fine enough. The comedy track is pretty strong, especially Brahmanandam as a star – Tempting Star Bullet Babu, who rankles the movie industry with his sharp witticisms and comments about the insiders. Saptagiri as the articulate advocate and Posani as the comedy villain, who is after Chandu for his money, liven up the going ons efficiently enough.

Peter Hein’s stunts are very cutting edge, especially the car chases (which, of course have become super routine now). The action sequences are neat with no awkward angles. The music by Sunny suits the mood of the movie and goes well with its flow. In particular Alanati Devadasu has a peppy club number beat, while the title score is pretty catchy and upbeat. Richard Prasad’s lighting and his camerawork are slick enough creating some eye-catching visuals. The editing in the second half needed to be crisper to keep up the tempo in the film.

Overall, chalta hai yaar!

Score51%

Telugu, Action, Thriller, Drama, Color

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2 Comments

  1. Good job in reviewing. This website appears to be a welcome addition to the already crowded space of movie reviews. What I particularly love is the fact that the reviews are to done to the point and no fluff involved in the website..

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