Andhra Pradesh

Not a patch on the original

Tarun and Ileana in ‘Bhale Dongalu’

Film: Bhale Dongalu (Telugu)

Cast: Tarun, Ileana

Direction: Vijaybhaskar

Bhale Dongalu directed by Vijaybhaskar is an unapologetic imitation of the film ‘Bunty Aur Babli’. There are a few changes here and there and it looks as if the director has no qualms inthinking it his own creation.

The film is wrong from the word go as the hero and heroine look like midgets for a towering storyline and dialogues are not only bland, they refuse to bond with the characters.

With absolutely nil chemistry between the lead pair, the filmmaker does the audience a favour by not retaining the scene from the original, i.e showing the heroine as a pregnant woman and instead gives the cop and thief story a touching humane finale. Another important character in the film who grabs attention is Jagapati Babu. It is a clichéd guest role of a cop but he puts in his effort to make a difference. Pin-Up boy Tarun has obviously worked on his body and performance and Ileana acts well this time. Pradeep Rawat fails to make an impact.

The comedians do bring in some relief, there are a few funny scenes that make you laugh but that’s about it.

While the popular number ‘Kajra Re’ became memorable, this one by Charmme will fade into oblivion too soon. She bares it all, which should satisfy the front benchers . Cinematography is alright and music is less than ordinary.

The screenplay is drab and hardly captivating. The narrative is weak and slow. Since it’s a remake there is was no necessity to make it different, all the director had to do was to avoid creating a mess. If your idea is to spend a hot summer noon watching this film, go for the original.

Y.SUNITA CHOWDHARY

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