Kuberaa Movie Review

Expectations on the film hyped up instantly when it was announced that Sekhar Kammula is teaming up with Dhanush for a social drama. And, the expectations around the film were further raised when Akkineni Nagarjuna agreed to do a crucial role in the film and Rashmika Mandanna was onboarded to play the female lead role in the film. Sekhar Kammula even surprised everyone by teaming with music director, Devi Sri Prasad for the first time. After Sir, did Dhanush score a success with his second straight Telugu film as well? Did Sekhar Kammula deliver yet another successful film with a social emotional drama? Did Rashmika continue her success streak? How did Dhanush perform in the role of a beggar? Did Devi Sri Prasad’s music live up to the expectations? Let’s figure it out with a detailed analysis.

What is it about?

Neeraj(Jim Sarbh), one of the most influential businessmen in the country aims to own the newly found oil resources in the Bay of Bengal by giving a bribe of one lakh crore rupees to the politicians across the country. He hires Deepak, a former CBI officer, to help him distribute the money to the politicians without raising any red flags. How did Deva(Dhanush) cross paths with Deepak? Who is Sameera? Did Neeraj succeed in owning the oil resources? Why did a former CBI officer agree to work with a corrupted businessman? Forms the rest of the story.

Performances:

We all know Dhanush is a terrific performer. In Kuberaa he outdid himself and delivered his career-best performance in the role of a beggar. His expressions, his dialogue delivery, the way he walks and everything else resemble a real-life beggar. He is in all likelihood, set to win a lot of awards for his memorable performance in the film.

Nagarjuna in the role of Deepak, a man who is stuck between his ideology and his necessity to protect his family, delivered a very subtle, realistic and impactful performance. It is so refreshing to see him in an author-backed role. Sekhar Kammula’s films will always have strong female lead characters. Kuberaa is no exception. Rashmika Mandanna got a very good role and she performed very well. Her performance along with Dhanush in the dumpyard deserves a special mention.

Jim Sarbh in the role of antagonist role delivered a very restrained performance. Dilip Tahil & Sayaji Shinde made their presence felt in crucial roles. The three actors who played the roles of three beggars along with Dhanush, did well. Sunaina in a brief role was effective.

Technicalities:

Devi Sri Prasad’s music is one of the major highlights of the film. He elevated many sequences with his terrific background score. The songs also worked out well without breaking the flow of the film. Cinematography by Niketh Bommireddy is first-rate. The way he captured the rich and poor side of Bombay with his camera deserves a special mention.

Editing by Karthika Srinivas should have been better. At least fifteen to twenty minutes of the film would have been edited to make it even more impactful. The production values of ‘Sree Venkateswara Cinemas LLP’ are good. It seems the producers spent quite a lot of money and it was evident on screen.

Positives:

1.⁠ ⁠Dhanush’s Fantastic Performance
2.⁠ ⁠Emotionally Charged Drama
3.⁠ ⁠Second Half
4.⁠ ⁠Nagarjuna & Rashmika’s Performances
5.⁠ ⁠Devi Sri Prasad’s Music
6.⁠ ⁠Hard-hitting Dialogues
7.⁠ ⁠Sekhar Kammula’s Direction

Negatives:

1.⁠ ⁠Editing
2.⁠ ⁠Pace During The Initial 20 Minutes
3.⁠ ⁠Abrupt Climax

Analysis:

There is a dialogue in the film where Sameera(Rashmika) says ‘I begged freedom from my parents. I begged my boyfriend not to break up with me. I begged my friend to let me stay at her place for a few days. And now, I’m begging people to give me a job. So, in some way or the other, all of us are qualified to be called beggars’. The depth in this dialogue and the situation in which the dialogue is used talk about Sekhar Kammula’s talent as a writer. Throughout the film, there were quite a few very sensible and hard-hitting dialogues that made the audience think and start empathising with the characters.

The film took some time to pick up the pace. The initial fifteen to twenty minutes of the film run at a lethargic pace. And then, Dhanush enters as a beggar. The look and his performance in the opening sequence take the audience by surprise and at the same time start liking the characters instantly. Kudos to Sekhar Kammula for conceiving such an uncommon entry sequence for a star hero in India. The way Sekhar Kammula showed us the back stories of three out of the four beggars with just the montage shots and without any dialogue, deserves a special mention.

Sekhar Kammula’s movies usually run at a slow pace but in Kuberaa, he made sure the screenplay runs at a quick pace in most places. Also, there are at least four emotionally charged sequences that worked very well in the second half. The sequence where Deva carries Kushboo on his back with the backdrop of ‘Shiva Stotram’ is outstanding. Dhanush’s performance, Kammula’s direction and Devi Sri Prasad’s background score worked out so well in this particular sequence. Also, almost all the sequences between Dhanush and Rashmika worked big time in favour of the film. It was a treat to watch both of them performing together with a lot of innocence in their expressions.

On the flipside, better care should have been taken at the editing table. The impact would have been even better had Kammula and the editor cut down the runtime of the film by at least fifteen to twenty minutes. Especially, the pre-interval action sequence dragged on a bit too long. The pace during the initial few minutes was very slow. Nagarjuna’s initial portions, dialogues written to his character during the initial portions would have been better. Also, the climax of the film looked abrupt.

Overall, the positives in Kuberaa outdo the flaws by a huge margin. It is certainly worth watching in theatres for Dhanush’s career-best performance, Sekhar Kammula’s writing and execution and last but not least, Devi Sri Prasad’s terrific background score. At the box office, the film has a very good chance to work out well.

Bottomline: Kuberaa – A Winner

Rating – 3.25/5