Darja review: Sunil and Anasuya Bharadwaj are wasted in this pointless actioner

1/5

Story:

Ranga is a happy-go-lucky youngster in a village, who goes about his life aimlessly with a friend. He falls in love with a funeral artiste Geetha. Ranga's elder brother Ganesh, who's mute, incidentally is smitten by Geetha's sister Pushpa. Kanaka Mahalakshmi a.k.a Kanakam is one of the most feared goons in the village. Tragedy strikes Ranga's household when Ganesh is found dead with a suicide note citing Pushpa as the reason. What connects Ganesh's death to Kanakam?

Review:

When the presence of two popular faces (like Sunil and Anasuya Bharadwaj) is advertised as the USP of a film, the least you expect is a film revolving around them. Darja even robs that little joy from its viewers. It's a film where its so-called lead actors star in extended cameos and a bevvy of unknown faces drive the story. The reason you miss the duo for a long time is that the film's a colossal mess when they aren't around. Darja doesn't even care to try.

Darja is a film where the team has no control over the narrative and the dots never connect. A guy falls for a girl and they break into a song. The guy's brother falls for the girl's sister too. There's a sentimental episode surrounding the brothers and a comedy scene around dead bodies in the village. The baddie is on a killing spree and she has a song too. A constable is narrating a flashback episode to a newly transferred cop. You never know for what evil joy such a story is being told.

Telugu film industry doesn't boast of good quality films made on small/medium budgets, largely because they ape star-driven mainstream cinema and are content being a poor man's fake. But why would a poor man bother about a fake when he has the option of watching the original? It's appalling how films like Darja, with non-stars/actors, subscribe to the 'five songs, six fights routine'. They have the luxury of not pandering to the galleries and yet, they settle for something so easy and convenient.

It's understandable why Sunil and Anasuya are given larger-than-life introduction sequences in Darja because there's nothing else to sell here. Expectedly, they sleepwalk through their portions and the film is easy pocket money for the duo. You are also constantly reminded that Sunil's character is called SIVA SANKAR PAIDIPATI (unsurprisingly, the name of the film's producer). The film is on a flashback-narration spree after Sunil's arrival. The presence of Sanjay Swaroop, Aamani, Shafi and Shakalaka Shankar doesn't help.

The suggestive camera angles and costumes for Anasuya are only aimed to titillate. The conversations/dialogues in Darja are mostly inspired by the punchlines from successful films and are tiresome to suffice as unintentional humour. All you hear are words like 'champestha', 'narikestha', 'bandi thee' and 'anubhavistha'. Even television soaps boast better background scores. Most of the actors appear amateurish and there's nothing to suggest why the film is titled Darja.

Verdict:

Even if you have the 'darja' of affording a ticket for the film, resist the temptation. Sunil and Anasuya Bharadwaj, even within their limited screen time, are royally wasted for a futile cause.