Dasara

In the 1990s, in the Telangana village of Veerlapally, Dharani, Suri and Vennela have been friends since childhood. Dharani loves Vennela, but seeing that she is looking at Suri he steps back and helps the two of them marry. The village economy turns around a liquor shop, and control of that shop is local politics itself. As the feud between Rajanna and Shivanna grows, the lives of the three friends are pulled into it. This is Srikanth Odela's first film. The narrative sets its village story on a concrete economy of coal mining, caste order and a liquor monopoly; violence here is not an action element but the natural outcome of that order. Nani plays Dharani and Keerthy Suresh plays Vennela. The look of the film is built from dust, coal and night lights, and is among the striking examples of that register in Telugu cinema. Who it's for: Viewers who like Telugu cinema, village-based action drama, and stories of friendship. Who it's not for: The violence is very harsh and the final section runs long. The woman's place in the narrative also stays limited.