Dacoit Review
“Sesh walked in as an actor and walked out as a genre.”
Agent Athreya··Action, Romance, Thriller
Shaneil Deo
Critic Scores
Overview:
At this point, the genre isn't action or romance, the genre is Adivi Sesh. Dacoit: A Love Story is debut director Shaneil Deo's ambitious swing at blending a love story, a prison escape, a COVID-era hospital heist, and a revenge thriller into one 2.5-hour package. It swings big, and more often than not, it connects.
Story:
Haridas a.k.a. Hari (Adivi Sesh) and Juliet a.k.a. Saraswati (Mrunal Thakur) are lovers who want nothing more than to stand by each other through thick and thin. But destiny has other plans. Hari ends up in jail, Saraswati marries someone else, and life moves on for everyone except the two of them. How they cross paths again and become important in each other's lives once more forms the crux of Dacoit.
What Works:
The climax is the film's biggest weapon. Anurag Kashyap gets arguably the best 10 minutes of the entire film, his scene decoding the full revenge setup (the why, the who, the how) is gripping stuff. The action that follows is shot with real energy, and it's the payoff the whole film has been building towards. Worth every minute of the wait.
Mrunal Thakur carries more than her fair share. Her Saraswati shifts across timelines, emotionally messy, morally complicated, occasionally desperate, and Mrunal handles every version without making it feel theatrical. She's the most watchable thing on screen, full stop.
Danush Bhaskar's camera work is doing serious heavy lifting. Warm, sun-kissed frames for the 2005 to 2008 love story era flip to cold, near-greyscale tones for the 2021 COVID sequences. The hospital heist and the police van escape are both genuinely well-staged set pieces.
The 'Kannepettaro' remix during the title sequence is an early dopamine hit, the kind of moment that makes single screens erupt and sets a promising tone for what's coming.
Adivi Sesh's emotional register is sharper here than in several of his recent outings. His scenes with Mrunal in the second half have real weight.
What Doesn't:
Critics say the first half tests your patience, but Athreya sees it differently. The love track between Hari and Saraswati takes its time, yes, but it's building something real. That emotional foundation is exactly what makes the second half and climax hit as hard as they do. It's not a slow first half. It's a setup that earns its payoff.
The supporting cast is criminally underfurnished. Prakash Raj, Sunil, and Atul Kulkarni are all here. You'll be happy to see them. Then they'll vanish before doing much. For a film with this kind of talent on the call sheet, that's a real missed opportunity.
The regional dialect Sesh attempts has divided opinion among critics, with some feeling it doesn't fully land and adds an artificial layer to otherwise natural scenes. Agent Athreya disagrees here, though. Sesh clearly put in the work to root the Madanapalle setting, and for the most part, it adds authenticity rather than taking away from it.
Technical Aspects:
Bheems Ceciroleo's 'Rubaroo' is a genuine standout, a melody that connected with audiences well before the film released and hits even harder in context. It carries real emotional weight in the scenes it accompanies, and you'll find yourself humming it on the way home. The much-hyped Pawan Singh and Jonita Gandhi special number, though, doesn't quite deliver the floor-shaking moment it promised. Gyaani's BGM, however, is solid and holds the crime sequences together well. Danush Bhaskar's cinematography is the clear technical highlight, deliberate, textured, and visually purposeful in a way that elevates the material around it.
What the Audience Is Saying:
Premiere and opening day reactions are largely warm among Adivi Sesh's fanbase, with big noise around the climax and Mrunal's performance. Social media is calling it a grower, first half complaints are real, but the consensus is the second half makes up for it in a big way. North America premiere sales crossed $300K, which tells you this film has genuine traction with the diaspora crowd.
Athreya's Verdict:
Dacoit is the kind of film that reminds you what a proper theatre experience feels like. The love track pulls you in, the action keeps you on edge, and that climax twist hits so hard the theatre goes silent before it erupts. Sesh carried this one with everything he had, Mrunal matched him scene for scene, and together they gave us something that stays with you long after the lights come on. Athreya is calling it: this one's a winner. Book the evening show, take your people, and watch it the way it was meant to be watched. On the big screen.
