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Sunday, March 23, 2025
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TELUGU DOHCHAY
EDITOR'S PICK
'Dohchay':
Fails to rob hearts (IANS Movie Review)
Rating:
**1/2
With a title like 'Dohchay', which means 'to rob', you expect a movie to do more
than just entertain. Such expectations were riding high on this film right from
the moment it was announced, since it was coming from the director who gave
Telugu audiences a sensational movie like 'Swamy Ra Ra', which was a critical
and commercial hit and opened the floodgates to a genre that was considered
underrated.
Half way into 'Dohchay', a crime comedy that doesn't do justice to both the
genres, the high expectations are reduced to half, and by the end of the movie,
you wish Sudheer had smartly worked on a sequel to his first film, which by the
way, someone else is making.
The movie comes with the star baggage of Chaitanya, and though Sudheer has tried
his best to not let it come in the way of the story, it does, and to some
extent, makes the whole effort look like it was another attempt to please a star
and cash in on his popularity. Maybe Sudheer wanted to use this opportunity to
springboard into the big league of successful commercial directors.
The star baggage here refers to simple things like Chaitanya's lavish bike,
which he rides with the earnings as a conman, and the luxurious apartment he
lives in. It also refers to the need to cast a beautiful heroine, Kriti Sanon,
even if it means she has no purpose. These were the compromises Sudheer didn't
have to worry about in his first movie, but here, for having chosen to work with
a star, it comes neatly wrapped with the big commercial tag.
The film opens with a bank robbery. Two guys rob a bank and escape in broad
daylight. They create a diversion without much hassle to confuse the police and
easily get away with the loot. One of them suggests they can easily double-cross
their boss and flee with the money, but the other guy feels it's too risky. As
they begin to argue, the story shifts to another location and introduces us to
Chandu (Chaitanya), who easily cheats a producer and walks away with a lump sum
amount.
For the next 45 minutes to one hour, we follow Chandu's story and learn what
motivates him to con, and how good he's at it. In 'Swamy Ra Ra', actor Nikhil
and his gang of friends conned and robbed people for fun. Sudheer didn't bother
telling us about their past or why they con, and why should it bother anyone as
long as the movie entertains?
In 'Dohchay', we're explained why Chandu cons people with a sentimental
flashback and there's a trace of Shankar's 'Gentleman' in the story. Now,
there's some morality in Chandu's actions. From his earnings as a conman, he
educates his sister and hopes to free his father from prison. The film suddenly
feels like a revenge drama and Chandu's every action is justified.
Minutes before the interval, there's an excellent stretch that unfolds in an
apartment where the two robbers from the first scene are still shown arguing.
This scene is more reminiscent of a Quentin Tarantino film, and it is even more
evident from the poster of 'Pulp Fiction' in the room. On the adjacent wall,
there's a poster of Nagarjuna's cult film 'Siva'.
Sudheer likes to pay tributes to his masters, and he does that so subtly. He
uses the tongue-in-cheek humour quite well, but only at instances where he was
running out of ideas and didn't have a clue how to proceed forward. Posani gets
a meaty role and he plays it to the T. He plays a comic villain and succeeds in
generating maximum laughter, and he's aptly supported by Brahmanandam in a
cameo. The last 20 minutes provide some great rib-tickling entertainment.
It's tough to shake off the 'Swamy Ra Ra' hangover in 'Dohchay', which
unfortunately fails to rob our hearts.
Director Sudheer Varma, who is awaiting the release of Telugu con-comedy "Dohchay" on Friday, says he had the project in mind even before he made his first film "Swamy Ra Ra".Read More
Dohchay Movie Audio Launch