Dasara is a Telugu film written and directed by Srikanth Odela, and produced by Sudhakar Cherukuri under the banner Sri Lakshmi Venkateswara Cinemas. The film has Nani and Keerthy Suresh in the lead roles while Shine Tom Chacko, Sai Kumar, Deekshith Shetty, Samuthirakani, and others play supporting characters. Santhosh Narayanan is the music composer, and Sathyan Sooryan is the cinematographer.

Dharani (Nani), Suri (Deekshith Shetty), and Vennela (Keerthy Suresh) are close friends from childhood in the village of Veerapally. Dharani has feelings for Vennela, but upon knowing that Suri is in love with her, he decides to sacrifice his love for friendship. Dharani is someone who is timid when he is sober, while alcohol or toddy wakes up the beast in him.

The entire village is addicted to alcohol, and hence, the power over the village also rests with the one who owns the only bar there - Silk Bar. Samuthirakani, Shine Tom, and Sai Kumar are the ones fighting for control over the bar. How does this bar and alcohol affect the lives of Dharani, Nani, Vennela, and Veerapally is what Dasara is all about.

First things first, one has to appreciate the conviction of debutant director Srikanth Odela, as every single scene has his unique signature all over it. It is like he is making a statement that he wants to make films his own way, irrespective of whether they work or not. What follows in Dasara is that this filmmaking attitude gets what it deserves. Which is, a lot of scenes work, and there are a handful of those that don't. The director is clear with his politics, and the revenge drama plays out as a slow burner.

For most of the first half, Srikanth Odela spends time setting up the milieu of Veerapally and the characters. In the process of setting up characters, their intent gets revealed, which makes the film quite predictable. This doesn't mean the film is boring or sucks the air out of you. On the contrary, Dasara is like wine, it becomes finer as it ages. And when it reaches the climax, we are given a peak masala moment that can make anyone go crazy, but sadly, it is the only mass moment in the film.

We probably haven't seen Nani in a character like this before. After being subtle till what is one of the well written and staged interval blocks, he lets loose in the second half and shows why he is called 'Natural Star'. Keerthy Suresh plays the perfect foil to him, and this performance of hers will be spoken about like her performances in films like Mahanati and Saani Kaayidham. Among the supporting characters, Sai Kumar and Deekshith Shetty leave a mark.

Another reason why the film works so well is Santhosh Narayanan's monstrous score. It is raw and rustic, and in typical SaNa style, he switches to jazz at times to mix things up, and this enhances our movie watching experience completely. Sathyan Sooryan does what is expected of him, filling the frames with brown and black colours, and it goes well with the film's setting as well, as Veerapally is shown as a place situated near coal mines. The production design also requires heaps of praise for creating such realistic sets.

There are flaws in the film, but director Srikanth Odela has announced his arrival with a bang. He shows a lot of promise and is someone to watch out for. As for his work, Dasara, it will end up among the league of films like Rangasthalam. The film's politics is also anti-caste in nature, which must be appreciated. Nani, Keerthy, Santhosh Narayanan, and Sathyan Sooryan are the chief architects who have successfully brought the dream of Srikanth to life. A must watch film.