Nandamuri Balakrishna scored a hat-trick along with Akhanda, Veera Simha Reddy and Bhagwanth Kesari. Now, he is back with his next film Daku Maharaj with director Bobby Kolli, aiming to make four films in a row. Balakrishna, fondly called Balaiya by fans, is known for his excellent entertainers. Will he win the gold medal with Daku Maharaj?

Govind Gujjar (Makrand Deshpande) sends a message to Nanaji (Nandamuri Balakrishna) that baby Vaishnavi is in danger. After being caught cultivating cocaine under the pretext of tea production, Vaishnavi and her family face threats from the local MLA, Tirumurthulu Naidu and his brother (Sandeep Raj). Nanaji comes as a driver and saves baby Vaishnavi and her family from serious dangers.

Soon, Nanaji starts to understand that there are some people behind Naidu, who are the Thakur brothers. Thakur brothers are known for their notorious activities. During an encounter with the Thakur gang, one of them reveals that Nanaji’s real name is Daku Maharaj. The rest of the film is about who is Daku Maharaj, his relationship with Baby Vaishnavi and his rivalry with the Thakur gang.

Here is the trailer:

Director Bobby Colli’s Daku Maharaj takes the usual oppressed vs. oppressor template and weaves a charming but predictable entertainment. While the Bandit Maharaj is not the actual oppressed, he fights for a cause and is forced to take on surveillance. The film takes a formulaic approach with many so-called entertaining elements. For example, the entire episode with Urvashi Rautela has no importance in the story. If he is not in the film it will not make any difference. PS: There has been a slight change ‘Dabidi Dibidi’ song went viral after huge protest,

As said, the flashback portions of Daku Maharaj make up the first half of the film. The way the story progresses and the way cinematographer Vijay Karthik Kannan has depicted it adds depth to the film. Balakrishna is seen in two looks and does justice to them. His transformation from an honest government official to a vigilante was interesting to watch.

While Bobby Deol appeared in the role of a clichéd villain who speaks with his guns, it was Shraddha Srinath’s role as Nandini that took the cake. Even though she had less screen time, she was still impressive in the scenes she appeared in. Pragya Jaiswal also had an impressive role, but she disappeared in the end.

Daku Maharaj is technically good. Cinematographer Vijay Karthik Kannan is the hero of the film as his frames light up the screen. Thaman’s background score enhanced Nandamuri Balakrishna’s many slo-mo elevation sequences.

The biggest flaw in Daku Maharaj is its predictability. Bobby Koli tried his best to hide the proceedings of the film, but it failed after some time.

Daku Maharaj is a good template entertainer with classic Balayya elements to keep you engaged.

Daku Maharaj 2.5 out of 5 stars.