Damayana review: A fine tale of a man who reflects the mentality of work-shy class

There are two sets of filmmakers; one believes in pure entertainment and another propagates the importance of delivering a message wrapped in entertainment.

Damayana falls in the second category. Shreemukha, who directed and also acted in this film, has managed to make good sense of this subtle comedy drama.

Synopsis

So, what is Damayana? It is the tale of Damodar Dude (Shreemukha), a guy in his 20s who hails from Puttur and “dreams big”.

He comes from a typical traditional family of the Dakshina Kannada district, with his father owning some land in which he mainly grows areca nuts.

Unlike his younger sister, who is all set to pursue her engineering studies, Damodar has three backlogs in his BA.

He steals a few areca nuts and sells them for cigarettes. Meantime, all he does is record reels, and post them on his social media accounts that have hardly any followers.

Dude’s (Dude is the surname) jolly life comes to an end when his father insults him for not being serious in life.

Damodar decides to move into Mangaluru in search of a job no less than a managing director post!

What’s next is the real soul of Damayana.

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Subtle comedy

Making someone laugh is a tough task. Yes, it is! If not, try once.

Harder than that is when a message has to be conveyed by lacing it with perfect humour and without offending anyone in the process.

And, the most difficult of all is to make others laugh by making a mockery of oneself.

Shreemukha wrote Damodar’s character on similar lines. The role represents the work-shy category who want every comfort in life but are not ready to work hard for the same.

Right from the addiction to social media platforms, especially making reels for likes and shares, Damayana is a brilliant film that is close to reality.

Shreemukha as Damodar Dude comes in different shades, first as a work-shy bachelor and then as a boyfriend who becomes another person when he starts earning some money.

Soon life teaches him a good lesson. He runs back to his parents before he is again hit with more harsh realities of life.

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Performances

Shreemukha and his bunch of newcomers put up a convincing act that makes Damodar worth all its honest effort.

Anagha, who portrays the character of Damodar’s girlfriend, is as good as the actor-director.

Praveen Valenkar’s character, who keeps popping up on the screen as a metaphor, goes well with Damodar’s state of mind in different circumstances.

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Final take

Damayana serves as a note to all those work-shy people who often ignore the essence of living life responsibly. All of this is packed neatly with the label — comedy drama.

(Views expressed here are personal.)