From a long time, Balakrishna is wooing his fans that a treat like "Simha" and "Legend" is on the cards again. With flops like "Lion" upsetting, cinema lovers are eagerly looking forward for "Dictator" to quench their thirst. Let us see how did it went.
The CONTENT:
Chandu (Balayya) lives in his in-laws house in Hyderabad, working as Supervisor at Dharma Departmental store. His wife (Aksha) speaks with him only on phone. Suddenly another girl (Sonal Chauhan) accidentally meets Chandu and later she gets warned by goons for her missing brother. To save her, Chandu hits the goons and at the same time he gets caught for stealing 5 lakhs from his store. Then a shocking fact about him is revealed and his wife (Anjali). What happens thereafter is the story. His link with Delhi, his past as a Dictator is something to watch.
Analysis :
The EFFORT:
On-Screen:
Balakrishna looked good in few scenes, but in some sequences somehow he sounded very pale. His dialogue delivery is powerful, but he completely faded out in romantic scenes. Coming to his dances, age could be felt over his moves. But in this routine soup, he's the only saviour who makes things interesting.
Apart from the lead hero, other actors are regular. Anjali is okay, Aksha is just there, Nasser and Suman are okay, baddies like Kabir Duhan Singh and Vikramjeet Veer doesn't made any mark. Much hyped Ratni Agnihotri is not interesting at any point.
Coming to comedians like 30 year Prithvi, Hema, Prabhas Sreenu and Shakalaka Shankar, they are all victims of bad script and poor dialogues written by the 'dictators' of Tollywood.
Off-Screen:
Till date, Sriwaas never came up with any unique story or screenplay, so we can't expect him to do something so great. However, this time story is supplied by Sreedhar Seepana while dialogues are given by Kona Venkat and Gopi Mohan. The gang, that worked for Soukyam recently, has failed miserably in bringing freshness to the routine story. And, Sriwaas failed to get a stroke of terrific screenplay and direction to it. In the name of giving entertainment, they picked up a routine story and tried all possible stuff to make it look new.
Thaman's songs are mediocre while his background scored is much more inferior. Only couple of songs made impact and others are time-passing stuff. He seems to have lost in delivering a thumping background score at least, which is his forte. All other technicians have done a good job, but they will not help the poor story to become a blockbuster.
TeluguOne Perspective :
The PLUSES:
Balayya (for fans) & Nothing
The MINUSES:
Everything & Unbearable second half
BREAKDOWN:
Even recent hits like Bhale Bhale Magadivoyi and Bhale Manchu Roju are also routine stories only, but it's the way they are narrated that really impressed. As everyone almost knows what the story of "Dictator" is, they are expecting to see the unexpected on screen, but Sriwaas failed audiences in terms of those expectations.
As the story stars, a police officer is simply murdered (generally they murder brutally, but here it is still the 80s format only) and a guy who watches it is being hunted. Cut to Hyderabad, hero dances at a Ganapathi festival and then he works at a super bazar living in his in-laws house. The girl never falls for our hero or other way round, and so the graph of the film. While goons come and go, graph never picks up. And then a boring interval as usual, with no pep. This simply guy is revealed as a big dictator in Delhi.
While many expect crackers in second half, like a Baasha, or like in many of Balayya's films like Samarasimha Reddy to the recent Simha and Legend, there is nothing such. A big family, big goons and unwanted fights. A real horrible experience comes up in the second half with writers and director fooling Balayya with a beaten-to-death script. At least action sequences should impress na? No way. A much irritating climax finally ends the film. Thank god.
From hero saving a girl, and goons giving him a visiting card of theirs, later hero going to den and offering money for her release, to hero beating them and killing all. From hero travelling in metro train on his way to his office, a 'departmental store', to saving an employee in the store. Almost all the story and crucial scenes of "Dictator" are a straight lift from 2014 Hollywood film "The Equaliser" that has Denzel Washington in the lead. But director Sriwaas failed to recreate that film's magic, while the punch dialogues written by Kona Venkat blow rust in our ears.
Even fans and cinema lovers who love to see routine scripts may not bear this "Dictator" because of the amount of routine that is incorporated into every scene and frame.
Final words: Only shouts, no content.