A thief boards a train intending to steal a young woman’s necklace, but after she’s betrayed by her lover, he unexpectedly becomes the one she can rely on.
Acting
Jagapati Babu's thief-to-hero transformation is genuinely affecting.
Direction
Kodi Ramakrishna keeps 138 minutes moving like a runaway train.
Production
That train set — they really built this thing practical.

Director
Kodi Ramakrishna
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The train set was one of the most expensive constructed for Telugu cinema at that time, and they reportedly shot for 40 days straight on it.
Dongaata arrived when Soundarya was becoming the definitive 'middle-class heroine' of 90s Telugu cinema — this role cemented that archetype of dignity under pressure.