Seenu Vytla is known for telling a story that is both funny and emotionally involving. But in this lengthy film that runs for 2 hours 50 minutes, he relies on his comedians to make the same spoofs on popular film stars, albeit on different people this time. The fights too are routine and the director uses the same formula for the hero to woo the girl by commenting on her looks (refer Athadu, Athidi, Kaleja ). The song and dance sequences aren't spectacular either and one doesn't understand why the hero has to break into Telangana when he's talking only to the villains; nevertheless, he does a good job of it and appears to be a natural.
Suman's presence wasn't imperative to the story. The focus of the story is on the son's love for his father and to what extent he goes to keep him alive and happy. Shankar Narayan (Prakash Raj) is a most loved politician and he is hit by his rivals, not one but three baddies that lands him into coma for 14 years. Meanwhile, his son Ajay (Mahesh) grows up to be a cop and with the miraculous recovery of Shankar Narayan, the onus is on Ajay to safeguard his father's weakened heart and also seek revenge on those who traumatised him.
Most of the lines written for Mahesh look and sound downright denigrating, especially when he stomps his father-in-law's foot in the car or makes remarks in the garb of comedy at Mumaith Khan, which he thinks is innocuous. The romance comes alive in Turkey and Samantha, who is initially fiery, suddenly turns coy and post-interval, practically non-existent except in the duets. The demographic is heavy and at one point it gets too difficult and tiresome to remember their identities, the place and year of the incident keeps flashing. And in the process of putting the threads together, one tends to miss out the drama.
There are pluses as well. After a long time, you get to see Mahesh brimming with life and speed in his dialogues, he maintains consistency and does away with a few mannerisms. The stubble look goes well with him, but the fresh pairing with Samantha goes waste as her role ends abruptly. The actor carries herself with elegance but the only place she could show her work was in the dances.
Vennela Kishore is appealing as Sastry; Brahmanandam and Mahesh have a few sparkling dialogues that could send fans into a tizzy. With a slicker, smarter and shorter look, Dhookudu would have been evocative like previous Seenu Vytla's hits but his haste (read Dhookudu ) in churning out a comic caper in less than a year and burden of balancing multiple plots with clichéd comedy makes it an ordinary fare.
