First Pawan-Venky in Gopala Gopala, Now Nikhil in Surya Vs Surya

As the hero joyously beats the dhol, there is a sense of ecstasy that engulfs us. Probably that’s one reason it has been a favourite prop for our filmmakers for a long time. And then it resurfaces again…

If one followed the promotions of Sankranti release ‘Gopala Gopala’, an interesting aspect was that of Venkatesh and Pawan Kalyan with a dhol.Then if we go back a bit, there’s Balakrishna swinging in joy with his dhol in ‘Legend’. And more recently, ‘Surya vs Surya’ has Nikhil beaming as he beats on the dhol…

However, this isn’t anything new as time and again, there have been several instances where our Tollywood stars flaunt their dhol beating talents. And if it’s not them, the back dancers are seen doing it. Be it Chiranjeevi in ‘Indra’, Samantha in ‘Ramayya Vastavayya’ or NTR in ‘Samba’, the dhol has always been used to elevate the drama and to take the story forward.

One wonders what makes the dhol such an important property that it resurfaces in so many flicks. “The dhol has an aura of celebration around it,” says Karthi Ghattamaneni, director of ‘Surya vs Surya’.

His views are echoed by Dolly, who wielded the megaphone for ‘Gopala Gopala’. “The dhol brings in a festive mood to the screen. When someone sees the poster, they get the feeling that there is some kind of celebration that one can look forward to in the film,” he observes.

He adds that the reason they used the dhol to promote the film was because “that was the only visual splendor in the film”. “The other two songs in the film were more of montages. ‘Baaje Baaje re Dhol…’ was the only number that was a full-fledged visual delight. There was colour that gave an amazing feel and that’s the reason we used it,” he further explains.

Karthik says that the dhol gives a desi element to the sequence in a film. “While the exhilaration is obvious, I personally feel there is an Indian feel to the dhol and that is why I used it. Our actors are mostly dressed in western attire and the dhol gives a bit of the Indian flavour,” he shares.

By Pranita Jonnalagedda