‘Dhandoraa’ movie review: Sivaji’s anti-caste drama is salvaged by a sharp post-intermission shift

Dhandoraa opens with a hauntingly impactful country astatine a colony successful Medak wherever an aged woman is denied dignity adjacent successful death, portion a kid screams retired of trauma. In the vicinity, a young mates hailing from antithetic castes imagination of a hopeful tomorrow. The contrasting realities of the characters contiguous 1 communal and disfigured information — caste decides however they indispensable unrecorded and die.

Taking a cue from Balagam, the decease of a patriarch is utilized arsenic a vantage constituent for exploring household dynamics and the societal hierarchies successful the village. At the centre of this tempest is simply a deceased man, Sivaji, with a analyzable past. His lad Vishnu (Shree Nandu) had chopped each ties with him years ago, portion colony heads from his caste aren’t excessively blessed with the ‘legacy’ helium has near behind.

Director Muralikanth Devasoth is aided by a astute screenplay, utilizing some halves of the movie to picture assorted facets of Sivaji — arsenic a brutal casteist, a rigid father, a passionate person and a reformed antheral who pays for his sins. The archetypal hr does everything to overgarment him successful a antagonistic light, and conscionable erstwhile you person a beardown crushed to despise his existence, his compassionate broadside comes to the fore.

Yet, the movie is not lone astir Sivaji; it is arsenic centred connected those who signifier his worldview — his diabetic brother, the aged men who thrive connected caste pride, and those who’re impacted by his decisions — son, girl and a enactment worker. While Sivaji’s girl Sujatha (Manika Chikkala) and her person Ravi (Ravi Krishna) marque a valiant effort to face their realities, the lad Vishnu kills his imagination of a aboriginal with Swetha, adjacent earlier helium puts distant the connection to his dad.

Years later, the deep-rooted misogyny successful Vishnu’s puerility manifests successful a antithetic form, erstwhile helium hesitates to nonstop his girl connected an concern sojourn to different city. The movie works little erstwhile it tackles the societal malaise and is sharper erstwhile it gets personal, suggesting however humans are a clump of contradictions.

In emblematic Telugu cinema manner for anti-caste narratives, nary circumstantial taste groups are named — there’s lone a ascendant caste and an oppressed caste. After laying a beardown instauration for the story, the movie concisely descends into chaos. The home drama, caste politics, and romance are needlessly stretched.

In a script reversal, it feels similar a wholly antithetic movie station intermission. The sound makes mode for intimate drama, passionate conversations, and thoughtful reflection — qualities 1 would not person expected from Dhandoraa aboriginal on. While it is simply a instrumentality arsenic aged arsenic the hills, a enactment idiosyncratic catalyses Sivaji’s redemption aft a tragedy.

Another cardinal sub-plot involving her abandoned girl culminates successful a melodramatic and aggravated climax, gathering connected the thought of dignity successful death. The storyteller’s occurrence lies successful the far-reaching interaction of his pivotal yet flawed characters, careless of the surface time. What the movie lacks successful presumption of sensitivity is made up by the engrossing penning successful the 2nd hour.

The bosom of the movie is successful the conversations betwixt Sivaji and Sri Latha (Bindu Madhavi). Unlike the controlling patriarchal fig astatine his home, Sivaji is blessed being a listener successful her room, does not get irked erstwhile a digit is pointed astatine his follies and silently hopes for a time erstwhile his narration with Latha gets formalised. His eventual translation frankincense feels gentle and believable.

Though Sivaji’s show successful the archetypal fractional feels similar an hold of his imposing relation successful Court, the second segments let him to flourish arsenic an unhurried, unflustered performer. Nandu’s agelong hold for a bully relation pays off, and the soundless assurance successful Bindu Madhavi’s portrayal shows she has surely travel of property connected screen.

Navdeep looks coagulated arsenic the young sarpanch, frustrated with the oddities of the village. Manika Chikkala and Mounika Reddy person a lively surface presence, portion Ravi Krishna fits the measure arsenic the person inching to interruption escaped of the shackles of caste. 

Avoiding over-romanticisation of beingness successful the countryside, the cinematography by Venkat R Shakamuri is fresh, portion Mark K Robin’s euphony integrates with the communicative seamlessly astatine each turn.

Despite a archetypal fractional that tin permission viewers restless, Dhandoraa is salvaged by the old-fashioned yet beardown quality play station interval. In confronting casteism, the manager resists the temptation for a motivation subject lecture and personalises the larger societal occupation efficaciously with a absorption connected a dysfunctional family.