Kuberaa movie review: Dhanush & co. shine bright in Sekhar Kammula's mindful ‘massy' film
Kuberaa Movie Review, Rating and Release: From the very outset, Kuberaa was going to be defined by the choices made by writer-director Sekhar Kammula. The decision to tell a story starkly different from his trademark intimate and subdued style, for starters, caught everyone's attention ahead of the release. The move to lend that story a considerably larger canvas than before became another defining facet of the film, as did the promotional tour he embarked on to discuss it. Amidst all this, the spotlight was always going to be on Kammula's storytelling approach — and how he would 'adjust' his perspective for an endeavour of this scale.
Yet, with the film now in theatres, Kuberaa doesn't feel entirely removed from what the filmmaker has done before. Although it tackles the sophisticated subject of corporate power-play and its apathetic worldview, the intricate manner in which the narrative unfolds remains resonant with Kammula's past work. It carries his refreshing treatment of everyday people, their true-to-life essence, his simplicity — and also the signature quality of treating audiences with dignity and not doubting their intelligence.
Take, for instance, how Dhanush's homeless character, Deva, is etched. Without diving into too much detail, the film traces how a destitute man is drawn into the world of the ultra-rich before he rises to the occasion and begins to control the game. This trope is familiar territory in cinema, and while Sekhar Kammula uses it to his advantage, he refrains from going overboard with Deva's heroism. Deva (thanks to Dhanush's measured performance) is meek, functionally illiterate, and ill-equipped in every conceivable way — but the film doesn't force him to act implausibly against his nature during pivotal moments.
The same applies to how Akkineni Nagarjuna and Rashmika Mandanna's roles are handled. Nagarjuna plays a high-level fixer for a corporate conglomerate (run by Jim Sarbh's cold-blooded Neeraj Mithra and his father), while Mandanna plays Sameera, a commoner girl (comically) dealing with life's many struggles. Kuberaa understands the importance of these archetypes, but also takes care to humanise them and draw the viewer into their world. The choice of locations (the film is largely set in Mumbai), the dialogues penned by Kammula and Chaithanya Pingali (also the co-writer), and the overall tone of the performances greatly support the film's emotional core.
At the same time, Kuberaa is keenly aware of being a 'pan-Indian' project, and carries a strange duality throughout its 182-minute runtime. As in Anand (2004), Godavari (2006), and Fidaa (2017), there is space allotted for natural and emotionally grounded moments which mostly play out between Deva and Sameera. Simultaneously, however, nearly every scene is packed with an intent to continually raise the stakes, which makes the narrative feel uncharacteristically high-pitched for a Sekhar Kammula film. The filmmaker, known for his restraint (and occasional cheesiness) even in heightened drama, doesn't mind dialling up the sentimentality here — and it's clear this too is a conscious choice to match the film's scale.
One conspicuous shift in Kuberaa is Devi Sri Prasad's background score, which veers sharply from the 'gentleness' of someone like Mickey J Meyer. The film is heavily underscored, and the music becomes overbearing — even manipulative — at times. Niketh Bommireddy's cinematography is serviceable, while Karthika Srinivas' editing does well to hold the dense screenplay together.
Still, the burden of juggling multiple responsibilities occasionally gets the better of the film. The first half hits the ground running and efficiently stacks a range of moments — the way Nagarjuna's Deepak kickstarts the story, the way Deva and Sameera stumble into the fray, and the intricate world of Benami banking, business moguls, politicians and capitalists (with Sarbh's character anchoring much of it) — all of it is well-organised and absorbing.
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In contrast, the second half begins to meander, searching for the perfect moment to land its final punch. Kuberaa wears its bleeding heart on its sleeve for the marginalised, and while several scenes are effective, a few others feel repetitive and yank the pacing. On one hand, they stretch the runtime beyond a threshold and test the viewer's patience. On the other, they dilute the sprightly momentum the film had built — a momentum that could have benefited from tighter reins in the final act.
If the bloated duration of the film could be overlooked, Kuberaa stands apart from all the cacophony around as a one-of-a-kind 'mass' experience. It could have used a more deft hand, yes — but it remains a rare film that asks difficult questions of its audience, and then trusts them to sit with the discomfort. Most importantly, it features a filmmaker orchestrating his cast with discernment. The actors — Dhanush, most notably — are all committed, and none of them overstep their boundaries. Watch the film to witness how a storyteller takes on power machinery with softness.
Kuberaa movie director: Sekhar Kammula
Kuberaa movie cast: Nagarjuna, Dhanush, Rashmika Mandanna, Jim Sarbh, Dalip Tahil
Kuberaa movie rating: 3.5 stars
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