Damarukam (2012) User Reviews (4)

Indianized - End of Days!!

[raviteja-m · 4/10 · 26 November 2012]

Long long time ago, there was a battle between Gods and Demons in which there is a lone survivor from the Demons side. Andhakasura (played by Ravi Shankar) (Andhaka - meaning Darkness + Asura - meaning Demon: A demon born from darkness). He vows to avenge the death of his companions and goes into penance for thousands of years waiting for the right time.

The time is right when there is a rare celestial alignment of planets and a girl is born (the story jumps forward to the current day). The demon now has to wait for the girl to grow up, and marry this girl (Anooshka) at the right time and then sacrifice her to the Gods to get a control over the primary forces - Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Lightening. This will then make him powerful, to raise an army to fight back with Gods once again.

The only threat to Andhakasura is from a human who is a devout worshipper of Shiva as a child, but who later becomes an atheist due to a personal tragedy. Andhakasura believes he killed this only threat when the boy was a 12-year old. But a twist in fate makes the boy survive and become the hero of the story - King Nagarjuna!

Nagarjuna looks young and energetic. How does he manage it every time! Anooshka looks divine. Prakash Raj was a a let down.

The movie does not meet the hype surrounding it. It is loosely based on the Hollywood blockbuster - 'End of Days (1999)' casting Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gabriel Byrne and Robin Tunney.

The mythology behind 'Andhakasura', on which this movie is based on, is much more interesting and intriguing than what was shown in the movie. The movie made an attempt to cover the weakness of the plot with the VFX special effects. Its a good attempt but still does not fully make up for the weak plot. The editing is not top class, with many scenes just put in to fill up the time.

Plot - Weak and mythologically inaccurate. Though one could argue that this is just an inspiration and not supposed to show what actually happened.

Acting - The acting is a 6/10, the main cast have done their bit.

Direction - OK.

Comedy - Poor for Tollywood standards. Lot of comedians, but the director did not make good use of them.

Music - Very good. As expected from DSP. 'Nesthama Nesthama' song and 'Reppalle' song are very nice. Charmi really slimmed down for the item song 'Sakkubhai'.

Special Effects - Good, but the ones from the previous movies like Eega, Arundhati were better and more tied up with the storyline. The special effects with the one containing 'Nandi' is really amazing.

A watchable Telgu Socio-Fantasy Actoion Film

[sreeram-srg · 5/10 · 31 August 2015]

Damarukam is a socio-fantasy film starring Nagarjuna,Anushka Shetty. .The backdrop is mythological.During a war between gods and demons only one demon remains his name is Andhka.The only boy who is 12 years can kill him who got blessings from lord Shiva.A girl born on Pancha Graha Kutami(Anushka),if Andhakasura marries her on a specific day he can conquer the world.Rest of the story is all about how Andhakasura killed..The relief is the plot is devoted to Lord Shiva.Performance wise Nagarjuna is okay.Anushka shetty looks divine in scenes and looks gorgeous in song sequences.Prakash Raj Good as human as well as Lord Shiva.Ravi Shankar is excellent as Andhakasura.The plus points of the film are graphics,songs and bgm,Nagarjuna,Ravi Shankar,Prakash Raj and Cinematography.The negative points are, plot lacks the punch at parts and climax is not so good,and the comedy sequences are not etched well,and the graphics in some portions are not so great .The best scenes are Nandi saving Nagarjuna,Climax fight with a devil animal,Starting war between Deva and Asuras.The movie has a good religious plot.As a Shiva Devotee I am happy.On the whole Damarukam is not so great,but it watchable for it"s wonderful visuals

Must watch it on the big screen

[vpat48 · 10/10 · 23 November 2012]

The social fantasy genre can be a double-edged sword. For every Ammoru or Arundhati that worked, there have been several others that have bitten the dust. Director Srinivass Redde's Dhamarukam is set in this genre with a generous dose of commercial elements. The film opens with the mythological battle between devas and asuras, resulting in the latter clan being almost wiped out. A lone asura, Andhakasura (Ravi Shankar), managed to survive and goes into hiding and penance and awaits his chance to regain control over the world. The time he has been waiting for arrives a few thousand years later. A girl with the divinity of goddess Parvati is born and sadhus sense something ominous in her horoscope charts. If the girl is wedded to the asura and offered as sacrifice, nothing can stop the asura from taking control over the five elements of nature and re-establishing the dominance of rakshasa clan.

The asura learns that a 12-year-old boy Mallikarjuna, a devout worshipper of Shiva, maybe his only hindrance. The asura wipes out the boy's parents and grandparents and assumes the boy and his sister have succumbed too. The boy survives (Nagarjuna) but develops hatred for lord Shiva whom he feels has let his family down. So far so good and you are hooked to this unbelievable flight of fantasy. Then the film shifts gears to mainstream mass masala, peppered with comedy episodes by Brahmanandam and Co. and an item number by Charmme. The girl with the ominous horoscope is Maheshwari (Anushka Shetty). Does the non-believer Mallikarjuna turn believer and fulfil his karma of saving the girl and thereby the world? Dhamarukam moves at a brisk pace initially, only to go off track for a while. The comic portions draw the required laughs but get boring after a point. And, after Andhakasura declares he will wipe out anyone who develops a soft corner for Maheshwari, we are all set for a grand tussle between the asura and Mallikarjuna. The film, though, gets to that point only after the lead pair actors have had plenty of time to dance in exotic locales. The final episode puts the focus back on the story. The visual effects and graphics, though jarring at a few places, rise up to the occasion. The fiery world of the asura and the ghats in Khasi where the aghoras reside are all stunningly depicted.

After the sober, saintly avatar as Sai Baba, Nagarjuna slips into mainstream mode like a veteran and goes with the flow of the film. Anushka Shetty fits the bill of a woman in trouble. Social fantasy is not new to her (Arundhati) and she sails through effortlessly. Her character could have been weightier and the inconsistencies in her characterisation (is she a house surgeon or a doctor? And we don't see any medical insights from her after her father meets with an accident) could have been avoided. Prakash Raj appears in a brief but impactful role as lord Shiva. But Dhamarukam's surprise package is Ravi Shankar as Andhakasura. He has the physicality of pull off the role, matched with his booming voice and menacing looks.

The premise of an evil man wanting to sacrifice a woman might remind you of films like Bhairava Deepam. The idea of building a story around the concept of an asura is laudable. But do we really have to see the asura lusting after a woman taking a dip in a temple pond? Go for this one for the visual effects and the sheer idea of an asura fighting for his supremacy.

one of the best movie among the Indian screen

[sasankatenali · 10/10 · 24 November 2012]

Nagarjuna has delivered a nice performance in the movie. He looks dashing and handsome as always and Nag has attempted a mass dialogue delivery style, that is slightly similar to the one he used in 'Hello Brother'. Anushka looks good opposite him and they share good screen chemistry. Ravi Shankar is highly effective as the evil Andhakasura and his performance is a major asset to the movie. The animated depiction of the war between the Devas and Asuras is nice. Some sequences have been shot well – especially the villain's introduction scene,villain killing heroes parents, the interval bang involving thousands of aghoras and some scenes in the climax block. Brahmanandam, Raghu Babu and Krishna Bhagawan bring a few laughs. 'Reppala Pai', 'Sakku Bai' and 'Nesthama Nesthama' songs have been shot well. Charmi sizzled in the item song 'Sakku Bai'Devi sri prasad Background music was spellbound. A must watch movie for fantasy lovers.And this is a fantasy movie and don't see for logical errors