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EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: *
By making a film like Dongala Muta, maverick director Ram Gopal
Varma has achieved two things. The first is he has made a film which he claims
has cost him just Rs.6.5 lakh -the artists and technicians of the film will be
sharing the profits, but it looks that they may have to settle for less looking
at the cold reception on day one of the film. The second achievement is he has
been able to get a very weak and uninspiring performance from lead actor Ravi
Teja, who is known for energy filled performances on screen.
The fact that the film has been made in just 4.5 days of shoot and on 5 Canon D
3 still cameras has not helped, but maybe add to its publicity value. If at all
Varma had to prove that he is serious in making a film with inexpensive but
result-oriented technical equipments, he should have made it with a passion that
was seen when he made films like Shiva, Kshana Kshanam
and Sathya. But Dongala Mata is just an amateurish
attempt and an effort to fool unsuspecting audiences who watch films on the
basis of star value and big names.
Dongala Muta may well be Ram Gopal Varma`s worst venture in Telugu
like his Aag in Bollywood. The film does not boast of any credible
story nor is there an iota of seriousness. Varma and his two proteges -
well-known directors like Puri Jagannadh and Harish Shankar - have not taken any
effort to prepare a script. Even the so-called horror, thrill or comedy elements
fail to make any impact. The film ends up as a hotpotch of badly written
sequences.
Too many characters enter the second half which leads to confusion. Monotonous
dialogues and expressions further dampen the audiences` curiosity.
The newly-married couple Sudhir and Rani are lost in a forest area while they
are on their honeymoon trip as their car breaks down.
They want to find a mechanic for repairing their car, but go to a resort where
they come across a manager, a receptionist and a worker. Mysterious things
happen in the resort which threatens the couple. Meanwhile, they are also told
that a ghost has been living in a neighbouring room. Sudhir and Rani want to
escape from the resort, but then comes the twist in the tale.
Ravi Teja fans who are used to see his spirited and powerhorse performances will
be disappointed to see such listless acting from their favourite hero. Even Ravi
Teja might have agreed to do the film mainly because he had at one time assisted
RGV in the direction department. Charmmee has been shown in various angles in
the film but most of the shots captured in still camera focus on her rear.
Prakash Raj, Manchu Lakshmi and Brahmanandam have brief roles, while Sunil,
Sudhakar and Brahmaji who play the role of three thieves in the resort utter the
same dialogues on the screen.
The film has been shot on state-of-the-art still camera, but the results are as
good as obtained from a normal camera. This is the plus point of the film. The
music is just average.
Dongala Mata is a below average film which boasts of some big
artists and using some new technical equipment to cut production costs. Other
than this, there is nothing to write about this RGV film.