Das Ka Dhamki movie review: A typical commercial potboiler

After a shameful incident with one of the customers at the hotel, he convinces his friends to go to the same hotel as customers and have one meal there with the respect that a paying customer would command. During the dinner, he bumps into Keerthi (Nivetha Pethuraj) who mistakes him for a rich guy. One thing leads to another and Keerthi ends up believing that he is Sanjay Rudra, the CEO of multi-billion-dollar company SR Pharma. Das vows to hold on to this respect and decides to marry Keerthi. His friends keep on reminding him about their impossible situation and to forget his pipe dreams. They also ask him to tell Keerthi the truth and be done with the drama. Blind in love, Das fails to do so. As he convinces himself that Keerthi loves him for who he is, she finds out about his real identity.

The love story ends on a sour note. Their dire financial status literally drags them to the road. At that moment, Rao Ramesh’s character enters their life and promises to solve all their problems if Krishna Das helps him with a situation his family is facing. The twist in the story is that SR Pharma CEO Sanjay Rudra is a lookalike of Das. He is told that Sanjay died in a recent accident, leaving a Rs 10,000 crore deal of the company in jeopardy. Since it is also related to a drug that could cure all types of cancer, Das agrees to act as Sanjay for 10 days till the deal goes through.

Who is Sanjay Rudra? How did he really die? Is this cancer cure drug real? Can Krishna Das really fulfill his commitments to Rao Ramesh? Will Krishna Das earn respect and have his own family? The rest of the story provides answers to all these questions.

Doppelgangers is an extensively used trope in Telugu cinema, seen recently in Amigos, Gautam Nanda, Jai Lava Kusa, Khaidi No.150, Vikramarkudu, Billa… the list goes on. Das Ka Dhamki follows this tradition and uses all the tricks associated with such movies. It is necessary to mention that the film’s writer Prasanna Kumar’s most recent outing Ravi Teja’s Dhamaka is also part of this list. Prasanna’s writing is fairly entertaining. Particularly the part with sidekicks Hyper Aadi and Mahesh is full of puns and punch dialogues. The interval scene, though somewhat dragged, is well picturised. The extreme nature of Sanjay Rudra doesn’t feel very convincing. The drama about the family members, without proper purpose or explanation, keeps dragging the momentum down. What is to be achieved in the 10-day period never becomes clear. The screenplay here is muddled. The second half is full of twists, character flips to keep the audience engaged. But we see the events coming from a mile away. The coda part that sets stage for a sequel is visually very interesting. This is perhaps the most imaginative scene of the entire film.

Vishwak Sen’s attempt at action feels forced, with not much variation. It depends mostly on one-upmanship achieved through predictable scenes. Nivetha Pethuraj oozes glamour in this otherwise routine character. Hyper Aadi and Mahesh deliver the goods. Tharun Bhasker appears in another forgettable cameo.

Leon James’s music is acceptable. The song “Almost Padipoyinde” is quite catchy.

During the film’s pre-release function, Jr NTR advised Vishwak Sen to forget about direction. If Vishwak seriously considers this advice, we may still get to see the firebrand action he has been so consistently delivering.

Das Ka Dhamki is entertaining if you are in the mood for a typical commercial potboiler.

Das Ki Dhamki movie cast: Vishwak Sen, Nivetha Pethuraj
Das Ka Dhamki movie director: Vishwak Sen
Das Ki Dhamki movie rating: 2.5 stars