Dhada Review

Its not always easy to keep up with the hype of an action film. For Naga Chaitanya, Josh had its action sequences and so did 100% Love but the main feature wasn't the action in the film. Ajay Bhuyan's Dhada was supposed to be Chaitu's foray as an action hero with a string of love in the story. But having the elements worthy of a commercial flick like music by DSP, current favourite Kajal Agarwal as the ladylove and locations in Thailand, Milan and Europe isn't enough to make it a successful one. Read on.

There really isn't much to either of the stories [yes, there are two]. On one side you have adrenaline junkie-ish Chaitu who has a run in with Rahul Dev's brother and thus becoming the reason for Rahul losing the 100 girls he sold to black market kingpin Kelly Dorji. On the other the hand there is Kajal who lives by her business minded father Mukesh Rishi rules and finds solace only in her mother's last home video before her mother commited suicide. In between the thrashing of the bad guys from one track, Chaitu spends most of his time impressing Kajal or using Brahmanandam for a bakra to get to Kajal or getting sentimental with his brother Sriram [Srikanth for the tamil audience] and sister-inlaw/mother Samiksha. In short, do the baddies/Kajal get Chaitu or not forms the crux.

A done to dust action film in terms of story can still work if the screenplay and the performance permit. But in the case of Dhada both are a severe let down. Now I dont mind that Chaitu has decided to do something different with the love angle taking a back seat but this is not the film of choice. He does score brownies on making an effort to improve his skills including dancing [one that he has been ripped to shreds for] but sorry Chaitu, you cant save this one. As a majority, it is hard to find leading ladies that have much to do in action films that dont revolve around them. But even with a particular portion about her, Kajal Agarwal fails to do anything. Yes, for the purpose of being a "pensive and melancholy" character, her character is restricted in emotion. But she doesn't invoke any and falls apart like nobody's business. Looking pretty and having 3-4 faces, none of which depict the intensity needed, just doesn't cut it. Rahul Dev tries really, really hard to be sinister but is given some ridiculous lines that just mar his performance. For a deadly gangster, Kelly Dorji doesn't even make you blink as a reaction, let alone fearful of a seemingly dangerously brutal individual. On a side note, both of these actors need to find better dubbing artists pronto! Sriram tries his best to add life to his character but it doesn't help when its a badly written role and is hardly impactive. Samiksha looks pretty. Mukesh Rishi is wasted beyond comprehension and funny men Brahmanandam and Ali need new material.

Ok so the performances were a washout. But visually, Dhada is great. Cinematography by Gnana Sekhar V.S. depicts Thailand, Milan and Europe in awesome light. Music by Devi Sri Prasad is good but nowhere near as good as you would expect from the likes of the composer that brought Arya 2 and Jalsa. Hello Hello Laila is hummable but Ey Pilla has too strong of a resemblance to Na Pere Meenakumari from Mallana [En Peru Meenakumari from Kandhaswamy for the Tamil folk]. Editing by Dharmendra cant be blamed for not snipping enough since the material isn't the best to begin with. For that, the man in the criminal corner is Ajay Bhuyan. The thought may have been a good idea at the time but the director not only struggles to present it, his script lacks cohesiveness entirely. We must be honest that originality isn't something that is often seen in TFI, but making the proceedings enjoyable can cover that major flaw. But Dhada loses out to that too. 

So is there are anything good about this film? Yes. The end credits.

Rating: 1/5