Cast: Nani, Keerthu Suresh, Samuthirakani, Dheekshith Shetty, Shine Tom Chacko, Sai Kumar, Shamna Kasim, Sajol Chowdhury

Director: Srikanth Odela

Dasara Plot

The film is set in the backdrop of Singareni coal mines near Godavarikhani of Telangana, where childhood friends Dharni and Suri steal coal from moving trains and make their living. The duo fall in love with the same girl, and Dharni quietly concedes to shield his friend from any pain. 

Meanwhile, the ongoing politics in the alcoholic village take a turn with a cricket match, where Dharni’s team wins and gets the cashier’s job for Suri, in order to get him married to his childhood sweetheart. 

The village gets a new leader and things start getting better for the oppressed caste. But on the day of Suri’s marriage, death comes lurking at the corner and a murder changes Dharni’s life forever. The story becomes a tale of love, friendship and revenge. Will he be able to avenge the death of his friend and save the other’s life? 

Dasara First Half

The first half of Dasara banks heavily on alcohol, politics and friendship. Nani’s Dharni isn’t the quintessential hero, and gives plenty of room for other characters to shine. There are too many songs in the first half of the film, making it seem more like a musical than an actioner. 

For a major part of the first half, Dasara seems stretched and unnecessarily dragged. The film picks up pace just minutes before the interval with murderers on a killing spree in the wee hours of the night roaming around the village. 

Dasara Second Half

The second half of Dasara takes the route to become the revengeful action thriller the audiences were promised. But sadly, the film turns into a television show with an over dramatic plot. There’s intense melodrama which doesn’t work for the film and is only saved by good performances by the cast. 

The only saving grace of the film is the climax, which despite being too predictable, makes for a good watch due to its large scale and well choreographed action sequence. 

Dasara Cast Performances

Nani’s raw and rustic portrayal of Dharni is organic. The actor manages to perform the action sequences decently and shines in his never-seen-avatar. The actor walks, talks and breathes his part and proves why he’s called a natural star. 

Dheekshith Shetty as Suri performs well and is in full form. Keerthy Suresh doesn’t get much to do in the first half, but manages to shine in the emotional scenes in the second half of Dasara. 

Dasara Direction

Debutant director Srikanth Odela makes sure the raw and rustic appearance of the film is organic. The director tries to keep the audiences hooked and engaged, but disappoints owing to a weak plot. 

Dasara Overall Verdict

The pace and predictability of Dasara overshadows the cast performances and direction. Nani was right, this ain’t anything like Allu Arjun’s Pushpa, but rather an over dramatic television soap opera that is easily skippable in theaters.  

Dasara is running in theaters in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.