Director Srinu Vytla, like most Tollywood directors, is excessively fond of excess, dipping into his own box of formula cookies (Dhee, Ready, Dookudu), and finding the so-called plot for this latest venture, which, some say, should've been called Dookudutu (Dookudu 2, get it?).
Now, I'm not a fan of Dookudu, preferring instead to re-watch the entertaining portions of his earlier flicks, which are, by far, decent Tollywood fare, and hear me out now, for this is pure gospel for those uninitiated in the Tollywood ways - one can achieve this feat, provided one has set their expectations to digesting the piles of superhero-crap that's dished out by the screenplay at regular intervals, something that's a staple in almost all of Tollywood cinema, regardless of who they choose to cast - unexplained, irrelevant heroics that have naught to do with any law of physics or logic or coherence. I always reset my expectations to said level before trying to sit thru one of these escapist fares, so bear with me if you do decide to watch this one, or any other one of its ilk after reading this piece.
Now, for the flick. As I mentioned once above, I am NOT a fan of 'Dookudu'. So, how did I think this one compared against that, which almost had a template for this one to fill in? This one, by far, in my opinion, far outdoes former, esp. since it gives the protagonist so much more to say and do, and that responsibility rests easy on the hero's not- so-young(anymore) shoulders. He's in every frame, and laps up the attention, gets greedy for more, and says and does everything to ensure he keeps that position, and stays in frame while doing so. His dialogue- delivery and diction are the tools he's set to making his goal on this one, and boy do they rise up to his challenge admirably. That element was sorely needed in 'Dookudu', but wasn't present in the least (though another underrated flick, 'Khaleja', had it in spades).
Now, bear with me once again, since I'm going to ignore all that's wrong with this flick, since those variables are the ones gone permanently wrong in every Tollywood flick anyway. The sequences where the main lead monologues incessantly (thee title should've given everyone a clue, but apparently not to few), the quirk that sets each of the other support characters apart (one being a database of human profiles, another being offensively of a particular character type that's a gross insult to their entire community, esp. since its played for cruel laughs, yet another being a power broker of sorts who apparently can't get it when he's being played, yet another being so completely corrupt that he has his colleagues and reportees kowtow to his every weird/personal whim - the list doesn't quite end there) and the route taken to reach the final denouement make this one hell of an entertainer, though it takes twice as long to reach that goal.
On a side note, the producers, after making this and 'Dookudu', should really think about their name, since nothing ever gets completed in 14 reels. Also, in a movie of this sort, it seems as though the editor was not allowed to trim the material to ensure shorter run-time. Plus, in a movie of this length, what is the need for song-and-dance-routines? I'll never 'get' that, but then I'm in a minority over here.
For what it's worth, this is a decent watch, provided one (re)sets their expectations as advised earlier, and prepares to enjoy the lead's monologuing almost all of the way.
