Over the last decade or so, there has been only one reason to watch a Kodi Ramakrishna film – that the next one will be even worse. Dongodi Pelli finally puts an end to that – nothing can get worse than this.
Dongodi Pelli is so bad, it makes even movies that have never been made look better. Most of the time, you do not know what its hero’s got to do with the film. Then, you are not clear for a long while if the film is a comedy or if it is serious, and how it matters. And finally, the biggest problem – you are not sure when it will end, and how you will pass time until then.
So here’s the tale – please take a shot of your InstantIQBooster injection and read on. Ratnaprabha (Ratna Bathal) is a sincere CBI officer who is investigating a murder – the murderer, found on the scene, is in coma, which is not surprising since he’s heard the entire script. The man who had the murder committed, Maasarayya (Kota Srinivasa Rao), a ganglord, decides that Ratnaprabha might actually solve the mystery, and decides that he’ll get her married through stealth to his rowdy son (Pruthvi).
Ideally they should have just gotten married and the movie should have ended here – everyone would have lived happily ever after. But there is a super-talented thief Raja (debutant Rajendra Prasad, looking as old as his more famous counterpart), who, by mistake, ends up tying the
thaali to Ratnaprabha on the day of the marriage without anyone noticing. Don’t ask.
Raja has his own flashback. He is in love with Rekha (Jalak Nandini), a woman who’s seduced him and then fallen in love with him too – unfortunately, she is dying in a few days (in the movie, we mean).
A heart-broken Raja decides to steal some SIM cards from the comatose murderer under police guard – the reason is, Rekha’s unscrupulous brother is after the cards for some reason, and keeps tormenting her to use her contacts in the hospital (she is getting treated there) to steal them for him, and Raja decides to do this so that Rekha will be left alone in her last days by her brother. It is in this process that Raja, being chased by the cops after he’s successful stolen the SIMs, accidentally ties the knot with Ratna. Like we said, don’t.
Ratna has a glimpse of his face after the marriage, but he promptly vanishes. She knows therefore that she’s not been married to Maasarayya’s son, but doesn’t know who she’s gotten married to.
Now it’s true that most of us never really get to know the person we’re married to completely, but Ratna decides this is ridiculous. Raja however does not have the guts to tell her what happened – besides, he has his own set of problems now: Rekha has suddenly disappeared, and Raja realizes that that whole thing was a set-up, and starts hunting for her. It emerges that Rekha works for another Dubai-based gangster, Abu, who also wanted those SIM cards to blackmail Maasarayya.
Ratna now realizes who Maasarayya really is, and starts going after him. As expected, she gets into a lot of trouble as Maasarayya retaliates, and Raja keeps helping her out without her knowledge. To find out what happens next, you would have to wake up.
It would be wrong to use the words "logic" and "script" in the same sentence when talking about this film. The performances however are okay, except that of the "hero" – he needs to improve so much, it’s not worth it. The film has a few songs, too – just remember it’s not your fault, and you’ll be okay.
If you still want to watch this, you have passed the critical test to be in the will of Kodi Ramakrishna. And yes, you’ll find his
previous one a masterpiece.