Rating: 7/10 (Intelligent Thriller)

Cast: Ram Charan, Aravind Swamy, Rakul Preet Singh, Posani, Navdeep, Nasser, Randheer, Shekar, Surya

Screenplay-Direction: Surender Reddy

Producer: Allu Aravind and NV Prasad

Banner: Geetha Arts

Release Date: December 9th 2016

Mega Powerstar Ram Charan has been unsuccessful with his last two films in terms of yielding positive box office results. He is now back with a remake of a successful Tamil film, Thani Oruvan titled as Dhruva in Telugu. Going all out and sporting a chiseled six pack body, will his hard work pay off for Dhruva and give him the much needed hit? Let's find out.

Plot: An intelligent young IPS officer named Dhruva (Ram Charan) finds a perfect match to challenge and take down in a businessman named Siddarth Abhimanyu (Aravind Swamy)

Performances: Ram Charan is absolutely superb as Dhruva. Being a Telugu movie fan, I will go to the extent of saying that Ram Charan was better than Jayam Ravi in the original. Ram Charan not only improved by miles and boundaries as an actor but is superb in key sequences such as the love proposal scene and the climax. His 6 pack physique only adds value to the film and he is amazing in the songs as usual with his incredible grace.

Aravind Swamy delivers another knockout performance reprising his classic role as Siddarth Abhimanyu from the original. The makers did a wise job in casting him again in the remake as no actor could have done justice to the role as he has done. He is first-rate.

Rakul Preet Singh doesn't have much to do other than appear in the songs and a short romantic thread in Kashmir. But she is scorching hot in Pareshanuraa and looks gorgeous throughout the movie. She's ok.

Ranadheer and Navdeep as Dhruva's assistants are good in supporting roles.

Posani is excellent as Chengalrayuidu and is a perfect replacement for Thabi Ramaiah in the original.

Nasser reprises his role from the original and is fine. Sayaji Shinde as an aide to Siddarth is ok.

Direction: Surender Reddy delivered a sorry excuse of a film called Kick 2 last time out. He redeems himself mightily with Dhruva. The original script from Mohan Raja is intact and Surendy Reddy changed a few things to make it suitable to the Telugu audience. Using his stylish shot making ability, he weaves together the remake in a way only he can and injects the film with a pulsating narrative that never makes you feel bored. Despite the long run-time, he has ensured he has delivered a quality product. Overall, he has done a fantastic job in recreating the remake for the Telugu audience to enjoy.

Music: Music and BGM by HipHop Thamiza is good. The songs are alright and the BGM is a bit repetitive though. Cinematography by PS Vinod is excellent. Art by Rajeevan is fine. Editing by Naveen Nooli is pretty good as the film does not ever feel like it lags at any point. Dialogues by Vema Reddy are ok. Original story by Mohan Raja is incredible. Fights are excellent. Production Values by Allu Aravind on Geetha Arts banner are fabulous. The film is stylish and lavishly shot.

Positives:

+ Ram Charan

+ Aravind Swamy

+ Rakul Preet in Pareshanuraa

+ Story, Screenplay, Direction

+ Intelligent Mind Game

Negatives:

- Cinematic Liberties

- May seem slow at times

Analysis and Verdict: I've seen Thani Oruvan and still immensely enjoyed Dhruva. It's all about the nativity factor and being a telugu person, I enjoyed Dhruva more. The film is nothing but a scene to scene copy of the original but it retains the soul and feel that made Thani Oruvan such a good film.

The film opens up with a small flashback and then the introduction of Ram Charan comes soon after. The intelligence of Dhruva is simply breathtaking but at the same time a lot of logic is missing but as it is a Telugu film, we must forego such things.

Once Aravind Swamy enters, the film gets even better and the 2nd half is dedicated to the hero villain mind game.

The mind game is not as complex as Nannaku Prematho as the hero was always one step ahead in that film. In Dhruva it's the opposite. The villain is always one step ahead because of a small twist in the film.

Ram Charan, Aravind Swamy and superb work from Surender Reddy and his technical team make Dhruva a good film. An added plus is Rakul Preet who is absolutely smoking in the song Pareshanuraa with amazing makeup and a toned physique which will be a feast for young guys.

Overall, Dhruva is an intelliegent thriller that you can watch once. Despite some cinematic liberties and an uneven paced narrative at times, the film has some incredible performances and good direction and production values.

Watch it if you haven't watched the original and you'll enjoy it even more. If you have already seen it, still give Dhruva a shot.