Das Ka Dhamki Review: With Das Ka Dhamki, penned by Prasanna Kumar Bezawada, Vishwak Sen (who takes the director, screenplay and dialogues credit) attempts to make a film in the ‘eat the rich’ genre. While the film has all the makings of a story that should inherently leave you satisfied with the outcome, the way the film plays out just tests your patience.
Waiter and orphan Krishna Das (Vishwak Sen) has had enough of the rich customers who frequent the star hotel he works with as a waiter with his friends (Mahesh and Hyper Aadhi). Getting disrespected has become a part and parcel of their job but one fine day, a customer takes it a little too far. His manager Deepthi (Akshara Gowda) is unsympathetic. Frustrated, he decides to spend big bucks like a customer at the same hotel at least for a day with his friends.
What starts out as a day of lollygagging turns into a full-blown, orchestrated lie when he meets a fashion student called Keerthi (Nivetha Pethuraj), who mistakes him for the CEO of a pharmaceutical company. A series of events turn his life upside now. While he might end up getting what he always wanted, he realises, it might not bring him the respect and dignity he has been looking for.
The first half of Das Ka Dhamki plays out like your usual commercial comedy. There are duets in foreign locales (Almost Padipoyindhe Pilla), lots of laughs courtesy Mahesh and Aadhi, and some emotion thanks to Das’ circumstances and Rao Ramesh’s entry. Despite some problematic tropes playing out, an attempt is made to right them. However, the film runs on such a predictable note, you can even see the interval bang coming from a mile away.
Things take a turn in the second half. While what’s on paper seems to have potential, what’s playing out on-screen just seems to unravel at a pace that doesn’t just test your patience but is also inconsistent. On one hand, you have Vishwak going against the grain when he turns common commercial tropes on their head. Nothing is as it seems, but the film meanders till it reaches the conclusion. In a bid to give us ‘twists’, the writers seem to take it a tad bit too far.
The biggest drawback of the film must be its core point – a thread that runs on (you guessed it) pharmaceutical drugs. While it’s crucial to the story, you really don’t seem to care where it’s all heading. People driven by greed do what they do best after a while in the film and you just sit back and wonder when it’ll all end. The tipping point is when an unnecessary special number (O Dollar Pillagaa) is thrown in for good measure. It’s just too much! A little fine-tuning could’ve still made this all slick. The choppy editing by Anwar Ali doesn’t help either.
No matter how you slice it, Das Ka Dhamki remains watchable solely because of Vishwak Sen. He’s a good performer, be it when he’s playing someone naïve or when he’s toeing the line or morality. He gets to play a dual role and makes it work, making you also wonder how he’d fare in more grey-shaded roles. Nivetha Pethuraj is dependable as ever when it comes to her performance, and she looks gorgeous while at it. The rest of the cast play their parts well. Rohini seems wasted in a role that could’ve been much more. Leon James’ background score is more interesting than his music. Dinesh K Babu’s cinematography is good.
Overall, Das Ka Dhamki is a film that’s just potential wasted. It works only in parts and spends the ending setting up a conflict for a sequel. Did it need as many cuss words? Probably no. Could’ve it done with some fine tuning? Yes. Maybe they’ll do that in the next part!
