‘Dacoit’ movie review: A simmering old-school romance led by Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur

Dacoit: A Love Story retains its greatest surprises below wraps, at the same time as its crew pushed up pre-release promotions. Directed by Shaneil Deo and led by Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakurthe Telugu-Hindi bilingual is, at its coronary heart, an emotional love story with an Indian ethos, advised by means of a Western lens. The emphasis on “at its heart” is deliberate — embedded inside is a distinctly old-school romance that nods to cinematic tropes of the previous, hoping to resonate with a swipe-era viewers.

For that to land, the writing of each characters and subplots wants to carry. Sesh and Shaneil, who share screenplay credit, pack the movie with layered, usually complicated characters. Threads of doable deceit and double-crossing hold the narrative partaking at key moments. While a number of characters verge on being one-note, the complexity of the central figures finally works within the movie’s favor.

When the movie reveals all its playing cards in the direction of the top, a few of the early traces within the love story, initially seeming routine, purchase new which means. Screenplay supervisor Abburi Ravi, who additionally writes the Telugu dialogues, revisits sure traces by means of the movie, permitting them to collect emotional weight because the narrative unfolds.

More than the skinny plot, it’s the non-linear storytelling that lends Dacoit its intrigue. The 152-minute movie wastes little time, constructing momentum from the opening credit. The whir of windmills throughout the Andhra–Karnataka border, captured in ultra-wide frames by cinematographer Danush Bhaskar, contrasts sharply with the gloom of a jail cell the place Hari Das (Adivi Sesh) is launched. The digital camera lingers on his ‘J’ tattoo — a nod to his Juliet, Saraswathy (Mrunal Thakur) — as he holds again tears. What follows establishes Hari’s duality: irreverent in public, but weak in solitude or amongst these he trusts.

Set in 2021, within the aftermath of the second lockdown, the narrative travels again to 2005. The sun-scorched panorama turns into a personality in itself. Much like final week’s Telugu movie, Biker, Dacoit advantages from staging its drama in actual areas quite than relying closely on units or VFX.

The movie interweaves Hari and Saraswathy’s love-hate dynamic with motion. A standout sequence locations warmth, mud, trains and weapons towards a remix of the favored music ‘Kannepettaro’ from Hello Brotherstarring Nagarjuna Akkineni. Crucially, the sequence avoids glorification of the hero; it subtly underscores that whereas Hari could have toughened in jail, he’s not hardened felony. That vulnerability makes him plausible.

When the story shifts to an unlikely partnership between Hari and Saraswathy, trying a collection of heists, it’s this vulnerability that pulls the viewers in. They are novices — fumbling, improvising, racing towards time. The amateurish high quality of some heists is intentional. Alongside their private struggles, a subplot on pandemic-era medical exploitation — black fungus, Remdesivir, and mounting hospital payments — provides emotional heft, evoking a collective reminiscence many would quite neglect.

The movie’s social commentary, notably its underlying present of caste hierarchies, provides additional layers. Even the names, Hari and Saraswathy, alongside their nicknames Romeo and Juliet, feed into this discourse.

However, after constructing sturdy momentum, the movie falters in its later stretches. The heist sequences start to overstay their welcome, and some key revelations really feel predictable. It just isn’t tough to anticipate why somebody will get framed. It seems can be not robust to attach the dots when a baby on display.

Yet, the caste discourse lands successfully. When a personality questions why some escape penalties, the movie resists simple solutions.

The characters performed by Anurag Kashyap and Zayn Marie Khan emerges as a nice shock. Referring to Anurag’s character as Swami and situating him throughout the context of Ayyappa deeksha provides one other layer to the movie’s commentary.

The supporting solid, that includes Atul Kulkarni, Prakash Raj, Kamakshi Bhaskarla, Sunil, Jhansi and Zarina Wahab, is spectacular. However, a few of them are erratically used. One wonders if the mid-escape dance quantity (regardless of Jonita Gandhi’s presence) was mandatory.

At its core, the movie stays on Mrunal and Sesh. This marks one other sturdy addition to Mrunal’s Telugu filmography after Sita Ramam and Hi Nanna. As the emotional anchor, she delivers a nuanced efficiency, elevated additional by Chinmayi Sripada’s dubbing.

For Sesh, identified for his tightly written thrillers, this movie exams his performing vary, and he rises to the event. Shedding his city polish, he convincingly embodies a person torn between love and harm. His dialect, thought, is uneven.

The technical crew additionally deserves point out. Bheems Ceciroleo’s songs, particularly ‘Rubaroo’, and Gyaani’s background rating complement the narrative, often nodding to Westerns by means of string preparations. At instances, nevertheless, the music overwhelms the dialogue. Rekha Boggarapu’s costume design and Sri Nagendra’s manufacturing design hold issues grounded, with out distracting consideration from the characters, whereas editor Kodati Pavan Kalyan ensures narrative fluidity throughout timelines, particularly within the first half.

Dacoit It just isn’t a simple movie to immediately have fun or dismiss. It gives so much by way of character arcs, construction and writing. Its old-school strategy to romance, even teasing a spoiler in a music’s opening traces, is a daring alternative. Does it totally land? Not take away. With tighter motion and fewer predictable turns, it might have been a sure-shot winner.

Published – April 10, 2026 02:57 pm IST