Mouli Tanuj Prashanth first gained popularity as a YouTuber and later through the web series 90s – A Middle Class Biopic. He made his big-screen debut as a lead actor with Little Hearts, which became a super hit and earned him a good following, especially among youngsters. He is now back with DNK (Donga Na Koduku), his second film as a lead actor. Directed by debutant Sreenu Kambala and produced by Mythri Movie Makers, the film features Sushmita Shetty as the female lead, along with Ali, Raghu Babu, Rajitha, Priya and Babloo in key roles. The teasers and trailer generated some buzz ahead of its release.
Director: Sreenu Kambala
Cast: Mouli Tanuj Prashanth, Sushmitha Shetty, Ali, Rajitha, Raghu Babu, Priya, Jaya Krishna
Eshwar (Mouli Tanuj Prashanth) is a middle-class youngster from Visakhapatnam who has failed his Class 10 exams. He has no source of income but spends his time betting and playing online games, taking loans and piling up debts. He even pawns his girlfriend Deepu’s (Sushmita Shetty) rings to continue betting. Fed up with his actions, Deepu’s parents (Raghu Babu and Priya) visit Eshwar’s house and demand that he repay the money he owes them. With mounting debts, Eshwar decides to pull off a big scam to clear them. Along with his friend Babloo, he plans to rob a jewellery shop, but an unexpected development awaits him there. What happens during the robbery? How does Eshwar manage to repay his debts? What happens to Deepu’s father when he goes missing? Who is actually behind the jewellery shop robbery plan? The rest of the story answers these questions.
Director Sreenu Kambala has come up with a comedy story involving crime, but he should have focused more on developing the story. Instead, he gives more importance to lewd jokes, double-meaning dialogues and scenes designed to elevate Mouli. As a result, the narration gets dragged. The film revolves around a carefree youngster in Visakhapatnam who has no sense of responsibility and gets into trouble through his actions. The director has already revealed much of the story in the trailer. While the basic idea is decent, the way it has been presented on screen fails to make an impact.
The first half revolves around the protagonist’s love story, and the way the lead pair meets for the first time reflects poor taste in writing. To clear his debts, Eshwar and his friend plan to rob a jewellery shop. However, the plan takes an unexpected turn, and the second half focuses on uncovering what is behind it. The proceedings feel stretched, and the sequence involving the bag of gold, in particular, goes on for far too long. Even a scene that could have been wrapped up in a minute is unnecessarily dragged out.
The makers seem to have relied heavily on twists to create some kind of magic, but the idea does not work as expected. Many scenes also feel repetitive, as though we have watched them before. The dialogues are filled with social media memes, and the film uses a few vulgar words in an attempt to generate laughs. Double-meaning dialogues are also heard throughout. The character of Jayakrishna is built up from the beginning, making us expect something significant from him, but that track also ends up being underwhelming. Though a few scenes provide some laughs, the overall experience becomes tiresome. Some scenes lack basic logic, while the police station sequences are particularly irritating.
Little Hearts proved that Mouli Tanuj Prashanth has good comic timing. He plays Eshwar in a similar manner here, but the ease he displayed in his debut film is missing. Overall, his performance is not up to the mark, especially in the second half. The scenes in which he appears as a rich man surrounded by bouncers are particularly irritating. Sushmita Shetty looks good, but her character Deepu offers little scope for performance. Babloo tries to generate laughs with double-meaning dialogues and vulgar words. Ali and Rajini play Mouli’s parents, but their performances lack naturalness. Raghu Babu, Bhadram, Priya and Gundu Sudarshan are fine in their respective roles.
Surya Balaji’s cinematography is okay, while Sinjith Yerramilli’s music is average. Since several scenes feel repetitive, there is little to discuss about the editing.
The director has come up with a decent idea and some good twists, but the execution lets the film down. Though some dialogues may appeal to youngsters, the lewd comedy and excessive double-meaning lines fail to entertain consistently. At times, it feels as though the director has compromised on the film's quality in an attempt to make the audience laugh. Compared to Little Hearts, this film falls short of expectations. One also wonders how a reputed production house like Mythri Movie Makers agreed to back this story.