Akhanda, Veera Simha Reddy & Bhagavanth Kesari, after delivering three back-to-back successful films, Nandamuri Balakrishna teamed up with Bobby Kolli, who delivered a blockbuster hit with his previous film, Waltair Veerayya and the production house, Sithara Entertainments. After grabbing the attention of the audience with its slick and stylish visuals in the teaser and trailer, the film was released in theatres today. Did Balakrishna deliver his fourth consecutive successful film? Did Bobby deliver another blockbuster after Waltair Veerayya? Did Sithara Entertainments continue its success streak after a memorable film like Lucky Baskhar? More importantly, did the slick and stylish visuals have the substance? Let’s find out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Govind Gujjar(Makarand Deshpande) requests Nanaji to protect a little girl, Baby Vaishnavi and her family from the local MLA, Thrimurthulu Naidu and his brother(Sandeep Raj). Nanaji, while doing his job as the caretaker to the family, comes across a gang of Thakurs from Madhya Pradesh who runs Cocaine cultivation in the name of Tea Estate. During their first confrontation with the Thakurs gang, one of the gang members reveals that Nanaji’s real name is Daaku Maharaj. Who is Daaku Maharaj? What is Daaku Maharaj’s relationship with Baby Vaishnavi? What is the enmity between the Daaku Maharaj and Thakur brothers? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

Nandamuri Balakrishna delivered a subtle and impactful performance yet again right after ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’. His energy during the confrontation sequences with multiple antagonist characters & his energy during action sequences deserve appreciation. He looked good in the role of Nanaji and civil engineer Seetharam as well as ‘Daaku Maharaj’.

Pragya Jaiswal & Shraddha Srinath got limited but crucial roles. Both the actresses made their presence felt. The little girl who played the role of ‘Baby Vaishnavi’ delivered a good & confident performance. Ravi Kishan as Thrimurthulu Naidu did his role well and looked menacing.

Bobby Deol as the main antagonist and the younger brother in deadly Thakur’s family got a very good entry sequence. He did his part well in a not-so-well-written role. Shine Tom Chacko, Makarand Deshpande, VTV Ganesh, etc., the film had many notable actors. All of them made their presence felt but most of these characters were not written well.

Technicalities:

The cinematography by Vijay Kartik Kannan is undoubtedly the best thing that happened to the film. His visuals throughout the film are slick, stylish and very refreshing. Daaku Maharaaj is without a doubt one of the best Balakrishna film to date in terms of visuals. Especially, the visuals during the pre-interval sequence are top-notch. After the cinematography, the second-best thing that happened in the film was Thaman’s background score. His background score elevated and enhanced many sequences to the next level in the film. The ‘Chinni Chinni’ song is pleasant to hear and looks very good on screen. There are three other songs in the film including a mass number & two montage songs but none of these three songs leave any lasting impact.

Dialogues by Nandu Savirigana & Bhanu Bogavarapu are largely written keeping Balakrishna’s image in mind and are aimed to please the fans of Balakrishna & mass audience. There are quite a few dialogues in the film which are likely to draw whistles & cheers from the fans in theatres. Editing by Ruben & Niranjan Devaramane is a mixed bag. Their work is slick at places and would have been better at places. Especially, the editing during pre-climax and climax episodes would have been better.

Production values by Sithara Entertainments are very good as usual. Producer, Naga Vamsi and team spent enough money to give the film a very stylish and grand look. Kudos to the producers for hiring notable actors across multiple film industries even for small & not so significant roles. Bobby, the director took a routine script and mixed enough commercial elements to make the film a decent commercial entertainer. Let’s talk more about his work in the analysis section.

Positives:

1. Balakrishna’s Subtle & Yet Impactful Performance
2. Excellent Visuals
3. Superb Background Score
4. A Couple of Action Sequences
5. Fans & Mass Audience Friendly Dialogues
6. Pre-Interval Sequence

Negatives:

1. Routine Storyline
2. Predictable Screenplay
3. Dragged Out Pre-Climax & Climax
4. ‘Dabidi Dibidi’ Song Choreography

Analysis:

Kamal Hassan’s Vikram & Rajinikanth’s Jailer are now textbook references for any filmmaker who wants to make a film with a senior star hero in India across the film industry. The one thing that filmmakers have to keep in mind is that both Vikram and Jailer became a phenomenon for their innovative screenplay but not ‘Just’ because of their stylish presentation. The slick and stylish visuals along with terrific music only enhanced the impact of those films to another level but are not the ‘Only’ reasons for their phenomenal success.

For Daaku Maharaj, the director, Bobby, selected a very routine story and wrote a predictable screenplay around it but made sure to include enough adrenaline-pumping moments at regular intervals. The pre-interval sequence and transformation sequence of Seetharam into Daaku Maharaaj stands out. Both these sequences along with the dialogues used for the lead character will be liked immensely by the fans and mass audience.

The cinematography by Vijay Kartik Kannan & background score by Thaman are undoubtedly the major highlights of the film. However, the impact of cinematography and background score was brought down by routine execution. Barring an interesting twist related to the character, Baby Vaishnavi, right from the opening sequence to the climax, the film runs on a very predictable note. Especially, the last thirty minutes of the film would have been better with better writing for Bobby Deol’s character. Also, the choreography in the ‘Dabidi Dibidi’ song should have been better.

Overall, Daaku Maharaaj is a decent commercial entertainer and it can be watched easily once in theatres for Balakrishna’s subtle & yet impactful performance, slick & stylish visuals, Thaman’s background score and a few very well-executed sequences. With a bit of extra care in writing, this film would have become a memorable film in Nandamuri Balakrishna’s career.

Daaku Maharaaj – Stylish Maharaaj

Rating: 2.75/5

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