Daaku Maharaj - Marble slobs company

 

Daaku Maharaj

Telugu, 2025

Genre: Mass, Action

Where to Watch: Netflix

Director: Bobby Kolli

Stars: Balakrishna, Bobby Deol, Pragya Jaiswal, Shraddha Srinath, Shine Tom Chacko

Mohan's Measure: ⭐

India's thirst for violent solutions is brought to fore in almost every Balakrishna movie.  Daaku Maharaj is especially telling, with stabbing, beheading, burning, scalding, and all other acts of sadism one can name.

There is a story somewhere, about marble mines using forced labor in drought stricken areas, and the "god of the masses" - as he now dubs himself - saving them. The main story is side-tracked with extensively long flashbacks winding their way into their own flashbacks, making us to wonder, if not care, what the original story was about.

 Of course, because he is there, no one but a few select people are offered much opportunity to be on the screen. Shraddha Srinath is offered some, but her placid acting and awful lip sync do little else than providing a reason to make our hero all the more god-like.

It is telling of a society of just how much the director has taken pains - pardon the pun- to make the violence in this movie so visceral. After awhile, there are no good guys or bad guys, each man is just as sadistic and bloodthirsty as the rest.  The whole thing is numbing but nauseating, reminding me of how bad our numbness to the real world has gone.

So, while Daaku seeks his revenge on the enemies, Montezuma seeks his on my stomach.