‘Dasvi’ is a social-political satire starring Abhishek Bachchan, Yami Gautam and Nimrat Kaur. Cinemas today largely showcase realism and many times with scenes that tend to be raw and obscene. This is a perfect family film that will give one a good night’s sleep. It’s a light-hearted comedy that tends to talk about the corruption of the system and how innocent people fall prey to crimes satirically.
The story revolves around an extremely popular political leader who has been detained due to some corruption charges but ends up understanding the power of education when he himself appears and passes the 10th board exams. Abhishek Bachchan as Ganga Ram Choudhary had an overpowering screen presence with his attitude and crisp dialect. The power dynamics between him and a female IPS officer played by Yami Gautam is both overwhelming and satisfying. The onscreen bond between both the characters is one of the best things about the movie.
Nimrat Kaur who plays Abhishek’s wife transforms from a silent housewife to a bratty politician. Her performance is praiseworthy. As subplots unfold, we see different aspects of a character and how she educates herself on politics. She not only keeps the audience engaged but also is a perfect match for Abhishek’s screen presence.
Apart from the protagonist, the supporting characters of the film are so well cast that their acting feels extremely natural. Full of wit and humour, the dialogue delivery of each character is crisp. The monologue at the end, which is also the climax, will win one’s heart.
The movie is a very good one-time watch with complete Bollywood masala in it. Although it comes with a social message, the way Bollywood mainstream movies are presented with realism and aesthetics ‘Dasvi’ lacks that to a great extent. The graphics tried to compensate for the aesthetics but couldn’t. It was rather repetitive. The movie mentions ‘Taare Zameen Par’ (2007) and maybe it got the ideas from it or from ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (2020).
The confusing sequences and unnecessary fictional subplots with elaborate dream visions are not only annoying but take away the very essence. The protagonists could have been used in a much better way. It is hard to believe that a man who is so witty and bold, dances with prisoners around him especially when he had been the Chief Minister of a state for years. Also, it is hard to believe that an IAS topper shifts cow dung and does odd household jobs for the CM.
Overall, this movie might be entertaining if one is not looking for some serious, deep film to watch with the family.
‘Dasvi’ is currently streaming on Netflix.
Rating: 2/5
