Review : Dhandupalyam – Disturbingly realistic

Release date: 25 Jan 2013
123telugu.com Rating : 2.75/5
Director : Srinivasa Raju
Producer : Venkat
Music Director : Arjun Janya
Starring : Pooja Gandhi, Ravi Kale, Ravi Shankar,

Nisha Kothari

‘Dhandupalyam’ is the dubbed version of the Kannada hit ‘Dhandupalya’. The movie became quite controversial in Karnataka for its content. Pooja Gandhi, Ravi Kale, Makarandh Deshpande, Ravi Shankar and Nisha Kothari are the lead actors in this movie. The film released in Andhra Pradesh today.

Story :

This movie is loosely based on the activities of the notorious Dhandupalya gang. Lakshmi (Pooja Gandhi) and nine of her friends – Thimmadu, Hanuma, Chinna Muniya, Nalla Venkatesu, Krishna, form a gang. This gang sets its sights on Bangalore and embarks on a spree of dacoities.Lonely houses are targeted and the inmates are killed and raped.

As the killings spread, the government constitutes a high level task force to apprehend the gang members. Inspector Chalapathi (Ravi Shankar) heads this force and he has a fearsome reputation as a tough cop. But even he is taken for a ride by this gang, as they leave little in the form of evidence.

Will he succeed in apprehending the Dhandupalya gang? That forms the story of this movie.

Plus Points :

Pooja Gandhi has done a very good job in this movie. She virtually lives in the role of Lakshmi. Ravi Shankar is a fine dubbing artiste and an even finer actor. He has done a good job in this movie.

Ravi Shankar’s investigation scenes have been shot well. Nisha Kothari has done a good job in her limited role.

Screenplay is very good in the first half and it is quite realistic. The rest of the gang members have also done well.

Minus Points :

Many scenes in the movie are very realistic and quite disturbing. As a result, they will not be easy for many viewers to digest. The film also has too much Kannada nativity.

Violence is graphic and will disturb people with a soft heart. Entertainment seeking viewers will not find anything worthwhile in this movie.

Songs are bad and do not gel with the flow of the film. Second half is not upto the mark.

Because of the censor cuts, the linear flow in narration is missed.

Climax is quite poor.

Technical Aspects :

Background score is effective for this movie, especially during the violent episodes. Cinematography is alright. Because of the extensive censor cuts, the editor’s job must have become a nightmare.

Director Srinivasa Raju has managed to justice to his film to a certain extent. He should have taken care of narration in the second half.

Verdict :

Dhandupalyam is a very disturbing film that will not appeal to everyone. If you are a lover of casual entertainment, stay away from this one. But if you want to watch a starkly realistic film, you may try this one

123telugu.com Rating – 2.75/5

Reviewed by Ashok Reddy M

Translated by Emmess

CLICK HERE FOR TELUGU REVIEW