Dasara (film)

Dasara is a 2023 Indian Telugu-language period action drama film directed by Srikanth Odela and produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri. It stars an ensemble cast of Nani, Keerthy Suresh, Dheekshith Shetty, Shine Tom Chacko, Samuthirakani, P. Sai Kumar and Shamna Kasim. The film marks the directorial debut of Odela and Chacko's acting debut in Telugu cinema. Santhosh Narayanan composed the soundtrack and background score, while the cinematography and editing were composed by Sathyan Sooryan and Naveen Nooli.

The film was announced in October 2021. Principal photography commenced in March 2022 and ended in January 2023. The film is set in the backdrop of Singareni Coal Mines at Veerlapalli village near by Godavarikhani and Ramagundam cities of Telangana.

Dasara was released on 30 March 2023 to positive reviews from critics and emerged as a commercial success at the box office, grossing over ₹117.50 crore worldwide.

Plot
In 2009, Dharani is a young ruffian who steals coal for a living and lives with his grandmother in Veerlapally, where the womanfolk of the village are suffering as a result of influence of alcohol. 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 "Silk" bar, as announced by the village's candidate for the sarpanch 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 sarpanch elections, 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 stroke. 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 Dasara, 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. Dharani 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 influence of alcohol and finally realizes that alcohol will ruin everyone's lives. Dharani sets the bar on fire in front of the whole village, where he finally reunites with Vennela.

Cast

 * Nani as Dharani
 * Keerthy Suresh as Vennela
 * Dheekshith Shetty as Siddham Suryam "Suri", Dharani's friend
 * Dasara Siddhu as Chakali Venu, Dharani’s friend
 * Shine Tom Chacko as Thurpugutta Chinna Nambi
 * Samuthirakani as Thurpugutta Shivanna, Chinna Nambi's father
 * Raghu Babu as Babu Reddy
 * Sai Kumar as Thurpugutta Rajanna, Shivanna's step-brother
 * Jhansi as Ramanamma, Vennela's mother
 * Shamna Kasim as Chinna Nambi's wife
 * Sai Dheena as Bangaram
 * Rajsekhar Aningi as Inspector Nagaraju
 * Raviteja Nannimala as Dharani's friend
 * Surabhi Prabhavathi as Suri's mother

Development
In October 2021, Nani next project was announced with the title Dasara under the direction of debutant Srikanth Odela, who assisted Sukumar in Nannaku Prematho and Rangasthalam. It is produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri under his banner, Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Cinemas. The film was formally launched in February 2022.

Nani described Dasara as "pure raw, rustic, and adrenaline-rush of a film." The film is set in the backdrop of Singareni coal mines near Godavarikhani in Telangana.

Casting
Keerthy Suresh was cast as the female lead opposite Nani, which marks her second collaboration with him after Nenu Local, while Samuthirakani, Prakash Raj, Rajendra Prasad, Roshan Mathew, Sai Kumar, Zarina Wahab were signed on to play pivotal roles.

Filming
Principal photography commenced in March 2022. In April 2022, the makers shifted to Hyderabad 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.

Music
The film score and soundtrack album of the film is composed by Santhosh Narayanan. The music rights were acquired by Saregama. 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.

Theatrical
Dasara 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.

Home media
The digital rights of the film have been acquired by Netflix. 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.

Critical response
Dasara received positive reviews from critics.

Chirag Sehgal of News18 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." 123Telugu 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 The Times of India 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 The Indian Express 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 OTTplay 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 India Today 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 Times Now 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 Hindustan Times 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 The Hindu 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 Film Companion appreciated Odela's direction and world-building but criticized the writing; moreover he praised Nani's performance and Narayanan's music. Telangana Today wrote "Dasara is another celebration of Telugu commercial cinema, with raw emotions from Srikanth Odela and an incredible performance by Nani".