Dhruva movie review: Weak compared to its original, Thani Oruvan

Director: Surender Reddy

Cast: Ram Charan, Rakul Preet Singh, Arvind Swamy, Posani Krishna Murali, Nasser and others

After his rather weak ‘Bruce Lee’, actor Ram Charan has now returned with ‘Dhruva’ a remake of the spectacular 2015 Tamil film, Thani Oruvan.

Surender Reddy is the director for the Telugu remale while Rakul Preet Singh plays the female lead. Dhruva is also the biggest Tollywood release since the demonetisation so, all eyes are on this Ram Charan vehicle.

Dhruva (Charan) is an IPS officer who is on probation. He along with four of his colleagues are part of a group that nabs criminals and most of their activities are carried out in secret. Dhruva, however, is on another mission - on his own. He is convinced that a series of small cases are all connected and believes they are all part of a bigger conspiracy - being hatched by someone extremely influential and prepared.

Here is when Siddharth Abhimanyu (Arvind Swamy) enters. He is a scientist and the son of a minister (Posani). Abhimanyu runs a pharmaceutical company and he is portrayed as someone who is intelligent and resourceful. Dhruva then, tells the story of a heroic police officer who is at war with someone in a position of power. It's a tried and tested formula and here is also when troubles start for the Telugu remake.

Surender Reddy, no doubt, is an experienced director. He can handle big projects and is careful. However, the Telugu version is very weak compared to the Tamil original which was absolutely gripping. One just cannot look away after Thani Oruvan starts. But Dhruva seems to have added some unnecessary 'entertainment weight' with five extra songs (the Tamil version had just one) and the presence of a superstar - Ram Charan. Dhruva seems more intent on carrying Charan's starpower than just a lean and mean script. Which is why the remake's narrative is slow compared to the original. If the original was a Ferrari, Dhruva is a big van full of boring formula.

When it comes to the performances, Ram Charan has managed to steal the show with his makeover. He looks smart and brings in sufficient personality to back up his character's hero credentials. Arvind Swamy too, looks good but his character has been reduced to just a pretty face in the Telugu remake. He is fantastic in the Tamil original but here, he is plain and is totally lacking in emotion. There is a scene which reminds us of his range but that's pretty much it - Swamy in Dhruva lacks horsepower. Rakul Preet's character has been limited but she has managed to pack in a commendable performance. Posani, Randheer and others are strictly okay.

Dhruva is a remake that has gone very wrong. Of course, moviegoers who have not watched the Tamil original can catch Dhruva and treat it as a completely new movie. But we all know the script is not original. It's cut, copy, paste and spiced up. Even the dialogues are the same! Dhruva is an intelligent movie that tells the tale of two intelligent people who are at war but those extra songs simply bring the quality down. It's almost as if we here are compelled by some unexplained force to add more of this 'entertainment weight'.

Dhruva's makers had a ready, proven, super-hit script in front of them until someone decided that's not enough.