After the Sankranthi bonanza of the Tollywood industry with Ala Vaikunthapurramloo and Sarileru Neekevvaru, Ravi Teja's movie Disco Raja came into the theatres on 24th January 2020. I avoided watching it in the theatres courtesy the reviews. But, some spoilers of the movie really made me curious. Therefore, I watched this on Sun Nxt today. Let us see how this film fares out in just a second.
Disco Raja is a 2020 Telugu sci-fi drama starring Ravi Teja, Payal Rajput and Nabha Natesh in lead roles directed by VI Anand. The story revolves around Raj and yeah, the story is hard to describe. It is a very simple plot yet at the end of the film, I really got puzzled at how convoluted it became. Seriously, how can a director screw up concepts such as re-birth or post-war stress disorder. Yeah, the director added a gangster drama and an unnecessary family sub-plot where I cannot recognise even a single character instantly. It is very messy because the director concentrates more on some of the commercial elements such as the action or comedy but because of that, the intensity of the main plot gets diluted. The comedy or action he tried too are failed because of the lack of focus. The director does give some uniqueness to the whole film. The film looks very good. But, it is not enough. Especially, if I look at the climax twist(spoilers) it is very neat but whoa, it is very botched up by Sunil. He tries hard with that chapters intros or the changing frame rates but it is vain. If I look at the positives, the 20 minutes of Disco Raj and Helen are good and that's it basically. The director fails to emulate some of his earlier works like Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada due to lack of focus.
The acting is good at best and mediocre at worst. First of all, why are there 3 heroines. 2 of them are not even necessary. Tanya Hope does not act. She could have been replaced completely. Nabha Natesh is just an extra addition for glamour. She could have been completely removed and yet the story will be unaffected. Payal Rajput though, despite her short screentime, she shines as the deaf and mute Helen. I did not expect such a good performance. Ravi Teja himself acts very well as Disco Raja. He can get really artificial sometimes but it can be ignored. His physicality though cannot be ignored. In some scenes, I see his stomach bulging out. OMG that I did not expect. Sunil as the twist villain is very bad, it is tough for me to say this. He has no significance in his scenes as Uttam Kumar and we never get hints to clearly understand why does he kill people. Sunil, himself overacts and hams his heart out to glory. Bobby Simha as Sethu proves yet again that he is a force to reckon with. He is the only person who becomes naturally evil. He is menacing, mean and just damn good. Bad luck that the director does not give him meaty scenes. Other actors such as Ramki, Raghubabu, Satya, Satyam Rajesh, Annapurna and more just add beauty to the screen and are just standing dolls.
The one place the movie is very good is its technical aspects. The cinematography by Karthik Ghattamaneni is excellent. He is the main reason for the look of the film, colourful and vibrant. The disco scenes shine in particular. The music by SS Thaman is mixed. But, the BGM is solid. Problem is that it is repeated to its death. The Freak Out is the most attractive part of the promotions of the film. So, it is clear that it goes overused. The editing could be improved. This inter-woven screenplay type clearly was not understood by the director and it reflects on the editor. The art direction is good but maybe the team could have researched a little more. The sets are colourful and apt for the requirement. The hairstyling though is based on the 1970's where the film itself is based on the 1980's. The costume design too has the same issue. Is Gold Spot, the only cold drink served at the time? Seriously, that bothers me now.
Overall, Disco Raja is the disappointment of the year according to me. The story has elements which could have worked wonders. But, the lack of focus by the director ultimately makes it a mixed bag. If you are a Ravi Teja fan, you can watch this film for some entertainent. But, maybe skipping this would be the better option. This film is a good but failed attempt at bringing sci-fi to Telugu cinema once again.
The acting is good at best and mediocre at worst. First of all, why are there 3 heroines. 2 of them are not even necessary. Tanya Hope does not act. She could have been replaced completely. Nabha Natesh is just an extra addition for glamour. She could have been completely removed and yet the story will be unaffected. Payal Rajput though, despite her short screentime, she shines as the deaf and mute Helen. I did not expect such a good performance. Ravi Teja himself acts very well as Disco Raja. He can get really artificial sometimes but it can be ignored. His physicality though cannot be ignored. In some scenes, I see his stomach bulging out. OMG that I did not expect. Sunil as the twist villain is very bad, it is tough for me to say this. He has no significance in his scenes as Uttam Kumar and we never get hints to clearly understand why does he kill people. Sunil, himself overacts and hams his heart out to glory. Bobby Simha as Sethu proves yet again that he is a force to reckon with. He is the only person who becomes naturally evil. He is menacing, mean and just damn good. Bad luck that the director does not give him meaty scenes. Other actors such as Ramki, Raghubabu, Satya, Satyam Rajesh, Annapurna and more just add beauty to the screen and are just standing dolls.
The one place the movie is very good is its technical aspects. The cinematography by Karthik Ghattamaneni is excellent. He is the main reason for the look of the film, colourful and vibrant. The disco scenes shine in particular. The music by SS Thaman is mixed. But, the BGM is solid. Problem is that it is repeated to its death. The Freak Out is the most attractive part of the promotions of the film. So, it is clear that it goes overused. The editing could be improved. This inter-woven screenplay type clearly was not understood by the director and it reflects on the editor. The art direction is good but maybe the team could have researched a little more. The sets are colourful and apt for the requirement. The hairstyling though is based on the 1970's where the film itself is based on the 1980's. The costume design too has the same issue. Is Gold Spot, the only cold drink served at the time? Seriously, that bothers me now.
Overall, Disco Raja is the disappointment of the year according to me. The story has elements which could have worked wonders. But, the lack of focus by the director ultimately makes it a mixed bag. If you are a Ravi Teja fan, you can watch this film for some entertainent. But, maybe skipping this would be the better option. This film is a good but failed attempt at bringing sci-fi to Telugu cinema once again.
iMDB Rating : 7.2/10
My Rating : 5/10
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