Movie: Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya
Director: Trikoti
Cast: Ajay, Naga Shaurya, Sana Makbul, Indraja, Brahmaji
Rating: ***
Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya can get us excited for several reasons. The most significant of them being, we have a director who can aspire to do an S V Krishna Reddy and an R Balki at once. In Trikoti, we can find a maker, who uses the ‘family entertainer’ tag to good effect. He rekindles memories of a Toorpu Padamara and Balachander in the late 70′ and 80’s, weaving complex equations that families can share under one roof. The film has four protagonists, who have meaty screen-time and surprisingly add equal value to the story. It, however, seems an idea that’s overstretched. Taking its course in the second hour majorly, the mix of modernity and old-world, formulae and a personal touch, helps the film, that takes up a rather taboo territory, traverse to a ‘unique’ space if not the best.
The film has an entertaining early hour, basically the slapstick portions, preparing us for an emotionally conflicting culmination later. Ajay gets the bulk of the attention initially, while it’s an underplaying Naga Shaurya getting to perform the ‘teary-eyed’ doings in the latter half. Brahmaji and the elder counterpart form a formidable duo, voicing contrasting concerns about their partners in their drunken banters, crossing the lines and getting trapped together. This also takes us to a phase where the distracting fillers dominate the core. The storyteller indeed overdoes his work on developing the intimacy between Gopala Krishna and Sameetha here. We’re still drooled into the narrative as the maker intelligently delays the obvious. This apparent shakiness is put to rest only after the intermission.
The movie’s multiple layers, especially, the father-son equation and the patriarchal nature of the society are nurtured well. The double-standards when it comes to the genders and marriages are extracted with immense proficiency too. We smile at a sequence here when Shourya says to his supposed love-interest, “Those ear-hangings are for my mom and not for you” and the girl receives it with an element of disappointment and surprise. The frown that the actor gives in a later scene when his father fails to acknowledge the gift that his son offers is equally uplifting.
There’s major drama happening in the climax, although, we sense that the director thankfully gives up his ideas of convoluting it any further. The ‘coming of age’ is for the older generation, when the younger lot puts a show of maturity. Dikkulu Choodaku Ramayya, the title, should have been an apt suggestion for the film’s screenplay writers in bringing together a structure that wavers consistently. Brave, considering the times but half-hearted in striking a proper thought.
Review by Srivathsan N. First published in Cinegoer.net
