DC : A butchered adaptation of Devadas/Bonnie&Clyde

Major takeaways

• Anirudh ensures that, at the very least, he stays true to the material, delivering a terrific musical score that breathes life into an otherwise lifeless film.
• Sanjana and Wamiqa Gabbi deliver performances that do exactly what they need to without overdoing them. Sadly, Lokesh remains stiff throughout, which looks particularly bad on screen, although the character sketch partly compensates for it.
• An adaptation of Devadas (the novel) and Bonnie and Clyde (the film) culminates in a messy action drama.

 

DC is director Arun Matheswaran’s fourth action film, and yet he still manages to make an action film with almost no emotional connection to its characters. The film goes full guns blazing for reasons that appear to be rooted in social issues, but it never meaningfully addresses them. This has been a recurring problem in his films, from the Eelam backdrop in Rocky to the Naxalite backdrop in DC. Here, Das’s motivation is fundamentally personal, yet the film forces it into a social framework.

A protagonist who is an alcoholic, a chain smoker, and impulsive is not enough to make a compelling action hero. As a filmmaker, Arun Matheswaran possesses a distinctive visual language, particularly through his use of colour palettes, and DC is no exception. However, one wonders whether he will eventually move beyond protagonists trapped in this relentless cycle of grimness.

As for the plot, Das and his gang hijack a cache of weapons belonging to the police and kill a policeman in an act of vengeance after he steals money from an innocent man who needed it to pay his child’s school fees. They go into hiding, and things gradually fall apart for the gang. How they meet Chandra, played by Wamiqa Gabbi, and how she helps them while they are on the run forms the rest of the story.

The plot itself is neither distinctive nor new, as it is clearly inspired by Devadas and Bonnie and Clyde. The screenplay does little to elevate the proceedings. There are hardly any memorable dialogues or moments that genuinely heighten the drama. The narrative lacks impact and ultimately falls flat, making the film feel like a run-of-the-mill action drama.

The film meticulously sets up its premise in the first twenty minutes, only for everything to be handled haphazardly afterward. Parvathy, played by Sanjana, was one of the characters I was most looking forward to based on the pre-release promotions. Her role contributes one genuinely melodramatic sequence in an otherwise emotionally hollow film.

Chandra’s character is essentially the Bonnie of this story, an abused woman trapped in a brothel. It is one of the few roles that the director handles with conviction, and Wamiqa carries it with grace. She brings a remarkable flair to every role she plays, with magnetically expressive eyes that do much of the emotional heavy lifting. This film is no exception. (THE DUBBING FOR HER CHARACTER WAS PATHETIC.)

Anirudh is the Edward Smith of this Titanic. This is easily one of his most impressive works in a long time. His music is outstanding; it is so effective that even Lokesh Kanagaraj, who barely emotes, comes across as a convincing action hero. Anirudh goes absolutely full throttle on a below-average action film that ultimately cannot be saved.

TL;DR

Wamiqa and Anirudh try hard to save a sinking ship, but the ship eventually sinks under its own weight. Watch it in theatres near you at your own risk.

Trailer