Darsakudu has an interesting script that looks fresh and could have become a decent and an entertaining story. Even after the interval, the audience is curious to know what kind of character this Darsakudu is but sadly it doesn’t throw up any surprises. The intro is well etched — about a school boy who loves cinema and has only one aim in life, i.e to become a director. He is so crazy that he makes his friends jump from a height and records it on a video camera. One girl from this school-going kids who gets hurt (she has a bruise on her elbow) turns out to be the heroine in the film and also doubles up as a costume designer. The story despite the lack of logic is interesting till the heroine says she cried only twice in her life. First - when she jumped from the cliff and next only now, for being emotionally hurt.
The only strength in the film is Eesha Rebba, she plays Namratha who is madly in love with the director Mahesh (Ashok) but is time and again hurt, when she realises that he is manipulative, uses her emotions, expressions to add value to his film story. He cannot differentiate between his passion for the film and love for his girl. She walks out of his life only to realise he is her childhood friend who grew up dreaming and working towards his goal. Our directors are tempted to show the grey side and limitations in character of a hero but somewhere they are driven by insecurities and justify the protagonist’s so called weird behaviour with some sentimental scenes and some emotional flashback episodes. Moreover, when a character, which is as complicated as this is being written, one must make sure the acting complements the script.
Newcomer Ashok has a long way to go before he makes an impact on the audience. There is not enough in terms of even the dialogues to make himself expressive. Cinematography is good and music passes muster. Stories running around film industry and lives of people in the industry have seldom met with success. It has had limited appeal but when you have a love story set against a movie backdrop, care should be taken to see that the audience relate to the characters instantly. The darsakudu in the film at one point says he is against item dances in the film and he is sure his film would be ruined if any such attempt to incorporate it would be made. Strangely in this movie, the hero does have a dance and it is pointless to ask if he really needed it. Darsakudu could have possibly got some attention with a familiar cast.
Darsakudu
Cast: Ashok, Eesha
Direction: Hari Prasad
Music: Sai Karthik