BOTTOM LINE
Borefest
OUR RATING
2/5
CENSOR
1h 58m, ‘U/A’Certified.
What Is the Film About?
Shalini (Nivetha Thomas) and Daakini (Regina Cassandra) come from two different backgrounds and are two different people. Shalini plays a foodie and Daakini is an OCD person. They come to get trained at a Police Academy. When their paths reluctantly cross, they bump into a racket that deals with the trafficking of girls for their eggs and organs. How they deal with that forms the rest.
Performances
Saakini Daakini as the name suggests predominantly is the story of two girls – Nivetha Thomas and Regina Cassandra. Nivetha Thomas tries a role contrasting her image. She plays a daredevil Telangana girl who behaves tomboyish in the film. That brings a comedy tinge into her character. It is a mixed bag.
In some places, we enjoy the fresh change and in some places, the old image of Nivetha Thomas comes back to give us a feeling she is a misfit. But her honest attempt is clearly visible and full marks to that. As long as it worked, her character is a plus point to the film. She looks a bit out of shape but given the fact she plays a foodie, that is alright.
Coming to Regina Cassandra, it is an okayish kind of outing for her. It is partly due to the bad writing and partly due to her rigid performance. The OCD character has good scope for comedy but that is not exploited much. She looks tired in the movie. A conflict point is introduced in Daakini character in the name of her parents and US studies but all of that disappears after some time. Both of them are seen trying some stunts and they are fine with that.
There are many other recognizable faces in the film but they are barely used. Bhanu Chander looks like a misfit. He is too old to play a cop. Thirty years Prudhvi barely worked with his comedy. We have Raghu Babu, Praveen, Satya, Chammak Chandra, and many others who are not used well. Kabir Singh is a namesake villain and so is Amit Tiwari.
Analysis
Sudheer Varma is known for his decent handling of Thriller. He has been entrusted with the duty of directing Saakini Daakini, the official remake of the Korean film, The Midnight Runners. It has been adapted into Telugu with a decent premise. There have been reports that some part of the film has been handled by Anand Ranga. We do not know how much is that but he is credited with a Thanks in the titles.
Saakini Daakini is the story of two girls who go to a Police Training Academy. During their training, they bump into girls trafficking rackets. We are reminded of Ravi Teja and Srinu Vaitlas Venky here and one would wonder why someone has to go to Korea for such a script.
Using two heroines for the lead roles is the freshness factor in the film which is a comedy thriller. But then, bad writing has been a letdown. The character of Shalini is largely fine but it is not the case with Daakini. The OCD problem is just for the sake of a couple of comedy scenes. The first half of the film works to some extent with comedy here and there. That is largely due to the freshness in Nivetha Thomas’s character. Mind you the comedy is not scintillating and if you are reminded of the old Nivetha Thomas, you may not even enjoy it.
The actual story part is touched towards the interval and we get a feeling something thrilling is in store for us. The bad writing comes back with a vengeance once again. There are no thrills whatsoever. We do not understand why the police are so reluctant to go after such an important case. It happens just for the sake of keeping the lead roles busy.
They sleepwalk through the case without any effort. We do not see anything different or thrilling. It is like an open and shut case for the actresses and will leave us with multiple yawns. The climax fight is a bit fresh but that is once again not something that changes the experience to a big extent. Finally, Saakini Daakini is not a film that is expected from the makers of Oh Baby!. The makers have originally made it as an OTT film but it does not even work there without the fast-forward button. Now, you know what to do. Wait for the OTT!
Music and Other Departments?
Saakini Daakini is that kind of attempt where we feel laziness in the writing as well as direction. The story feels routine and predictable while the screenplay is boring. Richard Prasads camera work is okay for a film of this range. Mikey McCleary came up with a decent background score. The way the title track is used at places particularly in the climax fight is in Sudheer Varma’s style and is impressive. Editing is patchy more in the second half. The production values are continuously kept in check bearing in mind the movie will go to Netflix.
Highlights?
Nivetha Thomas
Drawbacks?
Poor Writing
Boring Scenes In the second half
Predictability.
Did I Enjoy It?
No
Will You Recommend It?
No
Saakini Daakini Movie Review by M9News
