Dongala Bandi Review

It can be a heady feeling to have finally acquired the car that you have been dreaming of owning ever since you were a kid. In Krish's case, however, it's all spoilt by the cops and the actual owner determinedly chasing him. Fortunately for him, he's no stranger to these situations - and more importantly, he doesn't get emotionally attached to the things he, um, acquires. In fact, he uses most things only once before chucking them. If you always wished you were part of the elite circle of people who could afford to do that, well, here's the shortcut.

Dongala Bandi is the story of about a dozen thieves who are trying something ultimate - make a movie supremely boring despite all of Tollywood's leading comedians being in it. Okay, actually they are after a treasure, but by the time the movie is midway into a rambling second half, you want them to get it even more desperately than they themselves do, because otherwise the movie won't end, or worse, there'll be a sequel. Well, there's bad news - as in, the movie fortunately ends, but they're still after the treasure at the end.

Anyway, let's get to the tale first. Krish (Allari Naresh) and his chums are thieves who can steal from you so well, you almost want an encore. Once after a diamond heist, Krish makes a statesque jump in the ensuing chase a la Hrithik in Dhoom 2, but lands right into a waiting police van. This gives him time to introspect on his life, but unable to find anything to improve upon, he continues being a thief.

He then runs into Aishwarya (Tanya), a more talented and much better-looking thief than him, and he decides theirs would be a match made in heaven. He prays Durga (as in the deity) to unite the two of them, and the goddess obliges by making them run into each other again in the same temple, proving that female gods are quite senti. Oh well, if you are learning any lessons more profound than that from this movie, we want to see what you look like.

Now Krish's grandfather and Aishwarya's grandfather turn out to have been much bigger thieves who, along with a third partner, stole some real big loot from a prince of their times. They hid it somewhere in a jungle, made a map, and tore it into 3 pieces, and each family now has one piece, no clue where the other pieces are, and the same ethics. They coincidentally find the third cog in the wheel (Venu Madhav, a hyperactive mini-don just out of prison and eager to make up for lost time), and together with a large bunch of lackeys, start out in search of the treasure.

The movie hereon sees them trekking on and on through the jungle, and your patience running out fast, but even a seemingly doomed film can be unexpectedly saved by a sudden and outstanding cameo performance by one of the best Tollywood actors of all time, a rare hot item song by Ileana, and an uproariously hilarious climax. Unfortunately this movie has none of them, and it plods on till you're just about to call home to say that your meeting is looking like it'll take 5-6 more hours than you thought (you're hardly going to tell people that you went to watch a movie titled "Dongala Bandi").

Oh well, Dongala Bandi is not the kind of movie you're likely to connect with at a deep level, unless you have a flashback involving cops chasing you or something. It has its share of laughs, but then you don't have to pay good money and sit in a theatre to laugh sporadically - you can sit all by yourself and do it continuously (as long as you are sure nobody is recording it to show as evidence of something).

Naresh finally snaps an increasingly worrying streak of successes he's had this year - the law of averages catching up is good, since it always lends perspective. Tanya is fairly expressive for a newcomer and an imported Mumbai model. All other actors are seasoned Tollywood comedians, and make their characters look tolerable (though Ali can still gross you out as the almost-naked tribal chief). The songs are so completely speed-breakers, though Naresh's dancing can be rounded off to spectacular.

Watch Dongala Bandi if you are an Allari Naresh fan, but it will most likely cure you.