Dasara

<p>In 2009, Dharani is a young ruffian who steals for a living and lives with his grandmother in , where the womanfolk of the village are suffering as a result of . He spends most of his time with his best friends Siddham “Suri” Suryam and Vennela. Dharani loves Vennela since their childhood, but later learns that Suri and Vennela love each other, where he sacrifices his love and decide to unite Suri and Vennela, but Vennela’s mother Ramanamma rejects their relationship due to Suri’s involvement in stealing coal. Dharani speaks with her for Suri and arranges the marriage by winning a local cricket match in order to make Suri as a cashier at the famous , as announced by the village’s candidate for the Thurpugutta Shivanna’s son Chinna Nambi. Dharani and Suri get into a fight with Chinna Nambi’s supporters at the bar, where the bar gets heavily damaged. As a result, Chinna Nambi gets Dharani and his friends arrested. Shivanna’s step-brother Rajanna bails them out and asks them to not worry about the village politics. However, Suri asks him to contest in the , to which Rajanna eventually agrees. Rajanna wins the election after encouraging the womenfolk to vote for the first time. Dharani is made as the Deputy sarpanch under Rajanna and Suri’s marriage with Vennela is fixed. On the day of his marriage with Vennela, Suri learns about Dharani’s love for Vennela and his sacrifice for him, where he gets heartbroken. As Suri is on his way to talk with Dharani and their friends at the bar, a mysterious gang attacks and chases all of them, where some of Dharani and Suri’s friends are killed, while another collapses from a . Dharani is injured in the ensuing chase and Suri escapes with him on a bicycle. While escaping, Suri is beheaded, thus devastating Dharani and Vennela. Baying for vengeance, Dharani begins to investigate the matter and learns that Chinna Nambi was the perpetrator behind Suri’s death. Chinna Nambi’s wife Vadhinamma tells him that Chinna Nambi lusts after Vennela and had Suri killed when he learnt about his relationship with Vennela, not because he contested against him. After learning about this, Dharani begins to protect Vennela from Chinna Nambi by marrying her during the 11th day funeral rituals of Suri. At first, Vennela sees Dharani with hatred due to him forcefully marrying her, but later grows fond of him. On the day of , Chinna Nambi reveals to Vennela about his involvement in Suri’s death and Dharani’s devotion to her, shocking Vennela as she was unaware of Dharani’s love for her. During the Ravana Dahanam, Chinna Nambi’s hired gang (which had chased and killed Suri and Dharani’s friends) are waiting to kill Dharani and his remaining friends. However, Dharani and his remaining group of friends manage to kill all of them, just as the police arrive to arrest them. Dharani reveals to the entire village of Chinna Nambi’s involvement in Suri’s death. Before being taken away, Dharani manages to decapitate Chinna Nambi in front of the entire village, thus avenging Suri’s death. He and his friends are imprisoned as a result. 7 years later, Dharani and his friends arrive back to the village after finishing their sentence. Dharani learns that the womenfolk are still suffering due to the influence of alcohol and that the men have not changed even after what he did. He finally realizes that alcohol will ultimately ruin and decimate everyone’s lives in the village and sets the bar on fire in front of the whole village. Vennela comes running to the bar and the duo have a heartfelt reunion. In October 2021, next project was announced with the title under the direction of debutant Srikanth Odela, who assisted in and . It is produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri under his banner, Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Cinemas. The film was formally launched in February 2022. Nani described as “pure raw, rustic, and adrenaline-rush of a film.” The film is set in the backdrop of near in . was cast as the female lead opposite Nani, which marks her second collaboration with him after , while , , , , , were signed on to play pivotal roles. commenced in March 2022. In April 2022, the makers shifted to to shoot a song. In July 2022, the third schedule commenced. The movie wrapped up shooting on 13 January 2023 and entered post production ahead of its 30 March release. The and of the film is composed by . The music rights were acquired by . The first single titled “Dhoom Dhaam Dhosthaan” was released on 3 October 2022. The single “Dhoom Dhaam Dhosthaan” opened to positive reviews from many critics mainly praising the makeover of Nani and Santhosh Narayanan’s unique composition. The second single titled “Ori Vaari” was released on 13 February 2023. The third single titled “Chamkeela Angeelesi” was released on 8 March 2023. The fourth single titled “Oh Ammalaalo Ammalaalo” was released on 24 March 2023. The fifth single titled “Cricket Rap” was released on 10 April 2023. was theatrically released on 30 March 2023. It was released in Telugu and dubbed versions in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi languages. The teaser of the film was released on 30 January 2023. The digital rights of the film have been acquired by . The film was premiered on Netflix on 27 April 2023 in Telugu and dubbed versions of Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. The Hindi version of the film was premiered on 25 May 2023. received positive reviews from critics. On the website , 86% of 7 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. Chirag Sehgal of gave 4/5 stars and wrote “Nani’s swag is unbeatable, but the never-seen-before climax sequence will give you goosebumps and is a complete package. Besides Nani’s killer expressions and top-notch action sequences, it is a visual treat too. The makers create magic on screen with this never-seen-before climax and it is worth all the wait.” gave 3.25/5 stars and wrote “Dasara is a gritty action drama that has Nani’s outstanding performance. He shouldered the film all the way. Keerthy Suresh, Dheekshith Shetty and Shine Tom Chacko also performed well. The film is quite good technically. Barring a few laggy portions in the second half, the film is a perfect choice to enjoy the weekend.” Neeshita Nyayapati of rated the film 3/5 stars and wrote “Dasara is not the film that leaves you with a smile at the end of it all, it also doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Could it have been better? Sure. But Srikanth Odela and Nani make this slow burn work. So, credit where credit is due.” Raghu Bandi of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Nani’s Dasara is a heartfelt attempt from the makers, but falters due to poor narration. Can be watched for the authentic dialect, and raw and gritty performances from the lead”. Avad Mohammed of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Dasara is Srikanth Odela’s debut film and for a first time director, he has done an impressive job. Though his storyline is simple and does not have standout moments, the manner in which he sets the film in a unique world and creates rustic characters is the best part.” Janani K from gave the film 3/5 stars and wrote “Director Srikanth Odela’s Dasara, starring Nani, Keerthy Suresh and Deekshit Shetty, is a visually stunning revenge drama. With some clichés, Dasara has its heart in the right place.” Sushmita Dey from gave the movie 3/5 stars writing that, “the film’s writing might seem to be smeared by conventional writing choices, which will remind us of some previous movies, but the performances by every single character, technical finesse, the strong drama, a beautiful bond like friendship, slick action sequences in the second half make it a ‘paisa vasool’ experience as a whole”. Haricharan Pudipeddi from wrote “Dasara pretty much uses every trick that’s been used before when it comes to such stories. However, it still manages to leave a strong impact because of how it succeeds in sucking you into a world you haven’t experienced before.” Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of wrote “Srikanth Odela makes an assured directorial debut with the Telugu film ‘Dasara’, exploring caste politics in a mainstream format, backed by good performances from the cast led by Nani and Keerthy Suresh.” Mukesh Manjunath from appreciated Odela’s direction and world-building but criticized the writing; moreover he praised Nani’s performance and Narayanan’s music. wrote “Dasara is another celebration of Telugu commercial cinema, with raw emotions from Srikanth Odela and an incredible performance by Nani”.</p>