DNK Movie Review: How Is Mouli's Second Film?

YouTuber-turned-actor Mouli made his acting debut as a lead hero with Little Hearts. The film became a big success and earned him good recognition among Telugu audiences. Now, he is back with his second film, Donga Na Koduku, which was released in theatres under the title DNK due to censor-related issues.

The film combines crime and comedy. But does Mouli manage to score another hit? Does DNK entertain audiences? Let's find out.

DNK Movie Story

Eshwar (Mouli) is a young man from Visakhapatnam who drops out of his B.Tech course midway. He slowly becomes addicted to betting and starts borrowing money through loan apps. He even takes money from his girlfriend Deepu (Sushmita Shetty) to manage his expenses.

Things become complicated when Deepu's father learns about his financial problems. With mounting debts and pressure to repay the money, Eshwar decides to turn to theft along with his friend.

Their lives take an unexpected turn after they plan a robbery at a jewellery shop. The incident creates serious problems for Eshwar and his family.

What difficulties does Eshwar face after the robbery? What is the real story behind the jewellery shop theft? How does his family deal with the situation? The answers form the rest of the story.

DNK Movie Review: How Is It?

Combining crime with comedy is an interesting idea. However, director Srinu Kambala struggles to balance both elements throughout the film.

The first half has a few entertaining moments. Eshwar's irresponsible behaviour, his problems with loan apps and his relationship with Deepu provide some laughs. Mouli's comedy timing also works well in certain scenes.

However, the film loses its flow as the story progresses. Instead of making the narrative more interesting, the frequent twists create confusion. Most of these twists fail to surprise the audience. Some comedy scenes also feel forced and do not create the expected impact.

Despite being presented as a comedy entertainer, the film struggles to deliver consistent laughs. This becomes one of its biggest drawbacks.

Performances: How Did the Actors Do?

Mouli fits well into the character of Eshwar. His body language and comedy timing suit the role, and he manages to entertain audiences in a few scenes. Babloo also delivers a decent performance as the hero's friend.

Veteran actors Ali and Rajitha perform well within their respective roles. However, Sushmita Shetty gets limited scope as the female lead, making her character less memorable.

Technical Aspects

The technical quality of the film is decent. Suriya Balaji's cinematography is satisfactory, while Sinjith Yerramilli's background score supports the film to some extent.

The editing could have been much sharper. Several unnecessary scenes could have been removed to make the film shorter and more engaging. The production values are good.

Overall, DNK has an interesting crime-comedy concept, but weak execution and inconsistent humour affect the viewing experience. Mouli performs reasonably well, but the film does not fully match the expectations created by his successful debut, Little Hearts.