Set in Telangana during the period of feudalism, Dorasani is a love story of a young and innocent couple who face the wrath of the system. Vijay Deverakonda’s brother Anand and Rajasekhar’s younger daughter Shivathmika made debut with this film directed by Mahendra.

What is it about?

Raju (Anand) is the son of a painter. He falls in love with the daughter of Dora in the first sight. She is called Chinna Dorasani (Shivathmika) by the villagers. She too falls in love with Raju, but they find it hard to talk to each other let alone meeting. They keep it a secret for few days, but her father sees them and the consequences follow.

Performances:

Anand Deverakonda suits the character although he looks very average. His voice and modulation is quite identical to his brother Vijay Deverakonda. His performance is just okay. Shivathmika lets her eyes do the talking and she also suited the character of Dorasani. She can perform too. Most of the story revolves around the lead pair and other actors that played Dora, Naxal leader and Dorasani’s maid are good in their respective roles.

Technicalities:

KVR Mahendra’s story has an interesting setting, but that doesn’t make this routine love story engaging. The slow moving screenplay make this predictable story a tedious watch. The poetic style of narrating and shot making is impressive though. He handled the final portions of the film like an experienced director.

Music is the asset of Dorasani. Songs are mellifluous and impresses in the first listening itself. Cinematography is beautiful and gives the film an authentic period look. Dialogues and costume designing is flawless. Producers have dared to make an off-beat love story sans any commercial elements.

Thumbs Up:

Shivathmika

Songs

Climax

Thumbs Down:

Regular story

Disengaging and slow screenplay

Lack of entertainment

Analysis:

Dorasani is a film set in the eighties period somewhere around thirty years ago. It was the time when Telangana was under feudal system. Love blossoms between a young couple who doesn’t care much about their social differences. First half entirely focuses on how this couple expresses their feelings to each other as they couldn’t even talk to each other. All they can do is see each other at nights through a window. This seems fine okay at the beginning but soon turns tedious as the story doesn’t move forward at all.

The intermission comes at a predictable point and things turn tough for the couple as their romance is no longer a secret. The boy is arrested by the cops and the girl is sent somewhere. There is also the naxal movement that runs as a parallel theme. We expect that part to play a vital role in the story, but it just used as a tool to create drama in few scenes. The ending is shot well, but it becomes predictable as there is too much build up to it. Apparently, the director trusted the climax to come as a shocker to the audience. But nothing about Dorasani offers novelty including its climax as we had seen numerous films with similar themes.

Only saving grace for Dorasani is its music and visuals. Performance by Shivathmika also is impressive. The love story is passé and largely boring. After a point, Dorasani becomes pointless as it brings nothing new to the table. The second half has scope to engage the viewers by building tension, but it is done in a half baked fashion. Even the climax that should have been gut wrenching turns out emotionless and mediocre. Dorasani is a film that cannot please any age group because of its lethargic and uninteresting ways of dealing with a familiar subject.

Verdict: Outdated!