The writing is not to be blamed for a movie not directed well. As you watch the film, the first question that comes to mind is, ‘Who directed Dasvi?’ Because the writing is funny but you don’t feel like laughing at all. I did not watch the complete film but whenever there was a dialogue or scene that was supposed to be funny, I kept murmuring to myself, arre yaar ye bhi gaya.
I am of the firm opinion that a Director who knows his job well can save a mediocre film and the one who doesn’t can kill a great film. I don’t know if Dasvi could have been a great film but after a long time, a funny take on Indian politics and politicians would have been refreshing to watch.
It is also said that Dasvi is based on two real stories, one of Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi’s and second of the ex CM of Haryana, Om Prakash Chautala. Why do people think that Dasvi is inspired by these personalities?
The first reason is because it has a husband and wife angle where the husband, without a second thought, declares his wife the next CM after he is arrested. That’s where people are connecting it with Lalu Prasad Yadav and Rabri Devi. There must be so many similar stories in politics so I am not very sure about this one but the second connection is interesting.
After Mr Om Prakash Chautala was sentenced to 10 years of jail in a scam, he decided to study and appear for class 10th exams as he was said to be tired of the illiterate politician tag. What was appreciable was his age. He appeared for his 10th standard exam at the age of 82, and for his 12th class exam, later, when he was 86 years old. With Kumar Vishwas’ involvement in the writing of the film, Dasvi had to have glimpses of real life politics. No surprises here.
Coming to the performances, I would not comment on Abhishek Bachchan and Nimrat Kaur here. With direction as bad as Dasvi’s, you can never tell whether the actor did a bad job or it was only the director’s fault. But yes, I would like to comment on Yami Gautam here. She cannot shoulder the responsibility of strong characters and this has nothing to do with direction. We have seen her in ‘A Thursday’ as well. Again a strong female character where she tried her best to deliver a strong performance but failed. In Dasvi, it doesn’t even look like she is putting any effort to look and feel like her character, Jyoti Deswal.
More than looking a strict, honest, and disciplined jail supritendent (which was her character’s demand), her entire focus seemed to be on looking glamorous. I constantly felt that Ashwini Kalsekar should have played Yami’s role. It would have at least made the film worth watching – a few scenes at least, if not the entire film. And I wonder why the ‘Macha Macha Re’ song is forcibly placed in between the scenes. It was so unnecessary, absurd, and weird. That actually is the exact moment where your patience ends and you decide that you won’t be able to tolerate it any further. And thank god, it’s not in the theatres. We can easily change the channel, apologise to our brains for the numbness this sudden stupidity caused, and move on in life – to better things, to better films.
Now, if you are wondering what to watch on the weekend, watch Gullak 3. If you haven’t watched the first two seasons, binge-watch the all the seasons. If you are looking for a fun film, go for Kaun Pravin Tambe, you won’t regret it. Thank me later!
ALSO READ: Films/Web Series OTT Streaming Dates – April 2022
Streaming On: Netflix
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