The victory of good over evil is assured. It is the law of nature, at least in movies. And, revolving around this familiar subject is the latest Nagarjuna flick, Damarukam. Before you read any further or intend to watch the movie anytime soon, three very important things, spoilers! - One, Prakash Raj is Lord Shiva in the movie and not Nagarjuna! Two, it is not anywhere near the plot of Immortals of Meluha and Three, do not be deceived by the Aghori Babas’ population. There are not as many in reality.
A socio-fantasy, Damarukam, starts off with animated clips of all the mythological examples of good winning over the evil, from Sagar Manthan to Ramayana and more. The lone surviving asura, Andhakasura, who is definitely not happy with the developments in his absence nurtures hatred to avenge the death of his ancestors and dreams of ruling the solar system. His assistant, Mayi, is a very cliched hunchback advisor, whose really long nails have considerable cello tape stuck to them. Now, according to Mayi, the deal is that Andhakasura should marry Maheshwari (Anushka) who was born during the Pancha Graha Kutami (four planets and the sun aligned in one line) and sacrifice her to achieve all that he wants.
But - a mere mortal Mallikarjuna (Nagarjuna) is the evident “dusht parihar” angel, sent by God as a “karana janmakudu” (born for a cause) to marry/save her for the welfare of the world. Yes, he is an athiest-orphan with a physically challenged sister, whose parents get killed and hates Lord Shiva for not protecting his family.
Wondering, how and why Lord Shiva comes into the picture? Well, Andhakasura meditates to win over Shiva and extracts a promise from him not to interfere in his deeds. Smart, nah? The villain of mythical proportions is a treat to watch, be it his attire, body language or make-up. Ravi Shankar is for sure the hero of the movie. On the other hand, the hero doesn’t really come across as a matching answer. Quite a mix of all his roles from his previous movies, Nagarjuna gets back in form only in the climax. Illogically, he is given dialogues like “I will kill anybody, who dares touch Maheshwari’s “chunni”! Really??
Prakash Raj’s casting as Shiva is not convincing. Neither his character nor his physique is very impactful. Anushka is definitely pretty, but looks very low on confidence. Don’t be surprised to watch hundreds of Aghori Babas doing ‘Kuchipudi’ to bring the hero back to life and re-create a scene from James Cameroon’s Avatar.
Director Srinivasa Reddy had a good script, but perhaps keeping the subject exclusively mythological, without the mass masala element, would have been a better idea. The background score is amazing. Devi Sri Prasad sure did a great job.
The Verdict: Damarukam is a decent watch even if a bit twisted.