Ah! Cinema, the opiate of the masses! How it grips attention,
how it drowns in emotion and how it forces you to suspend
disbelief!
Takkari Donga is cinema at its entertaining best. So who cares
if the Grand Canyon has a village called Palasapaadu where
the villagers travel on horses? What if the fortune-teller
with a crystal ball looks more like a devotee of Katta Maisamma?
And a quintessential cowboy talks in the most idiomatic form
of Telugu!
There is a hero, two girls, a bunch of villains and a story
that can be set anywhere but the director chooses to take
Takkari Donga right to the heart of the Wild Wild West. Guns
in holsters, leather pants, bar counters and beer bottles,
timber cottages and vast expanses of red, dry dust go to make
the setting for this slick entertainer.
Mahesh is a young, daredevil robber who finds looting great
fun but his carefree visage hides the vicious memories of
a tragic childhood and he is apparently on the look out for
the killer of his family. After a great deal of frolicking,
gun fights and some romance he meets the object of his vengeance
and settles scores in a dramatic, if prolonged climax.
Jayant seems to have clearly enjoyed himself making this movie.
The screenplay is tight and the film sustains interest, except
for a few minutes towards the end. There is admirable attention
to detail and each frame looks like it is a faithful reproduction
of cowboy movies.
Clint Eastwood has an unlikely heir in Mahesh but this young
scion of Krishna wins hearts with his charm rather than glowering
looks. He puts in a controlled performance and appears to
have made good for viewers the long wait after Murari. But,
let's not start on the roles of Lisa Ray and Bipasha Basu.
Let's just stop at admiring their looks.
A smooth, technically brilliant movie after a considerable
time in Telugu, Takari Donga is entertaining and, in spite
of its stereotypical pitfalls, is certainly a refreshing break
from the deluge of routine love stories.
courtesy:
Deccan Chronicle
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