Apr 10, 2026 6:01pm IST
‘Dacoit: Ek Prem Katha’ Review: Adivi Sesh, Mrunal Thakur Steal Your Time And Do Nothing With It
Love makes you do the most illogical things. It lands a good man in jail and leaves him languishing there for over a decade. It makes a good woman make sacrifices she doesn’t need to. It is love that starts this story off and brings it to its rather avoidable conclusion.
When we first meet Haridas (Adivi Sesh) during the 2021 COVID lockdown, he’s serving time for murder and rape. Just being found guilty of those charges would be enough to see him behind bars and the man has probably made peace with that. Through flashbacks, we learn what got him to that point. About how a betrayal by this Romeo’s Juliet aka Saraswati (Mrunal Thakur) kinda destroys the purity of love for him.
Thirteen years on, a meeting with a former inmate Ishaq (Atul Kulkarni) gets him ranting about his former love. The two plot and execute an escape and Hari finds that Saraswati has moved on, has a child and a spouse admitted to the hospital. She runs from pillar to post to ensure that a heart is available for an upcoming transplant.
We are told Saraswati and Haridas’s meet cute happens at a blood donation camp organised by the former in Hindupuram and despite coming from different castes, share something in common. And it’s more than vibes
Related Stories
Despite the obvious class difference as well, they carry on, oblivious to angry eyes and the problems they would inevitably encounter. Their budding romance takes a literal beating when her family finds out about their dalliance and decides to exact ‘revenge’ and let Hari take the fall for it.
As we cut to the present day and Hari’s escape, there’s this looming revenge/doublecrossing subplot you see coming – or rather, you think you do – and prepare for. As the two go about their heist, you expect a chase and an eventual end. But this film upends all your expectations. And not in a good way.
The first half of the film establishes through dreamy light leaks and flares and the obvious detailing, lighting, music and hair & makeup (Tulasi Krishna Ch), a world where it does not matter who you love and that anything is possible. Until it all goes awry.
Adivi’s Hari is the ideal lover who has a heart of gold and it shows. Mrunal takes the damsel-in-distress bit a little too seriously. The flip that happens in their relationship feels a little too forced given that they shared such palpable chemistry minutes earlier. The reason feels obtuse.
The sound mixing (Kannan Ganpat) and levelling is all over the place, feels loud and jarring where not needed and most scenes in the first half lose impact where it could do better. Of the songs (music by Bheems Ceciroleo; score by Gyaani), “Touchbuddy” works in isolation, but “Rubaru” which plays over a span of three years, fails to impress.
Another subplot involving a father-daughter cop pair (Anurag Kashyap and Zayn Marie Khan) is far more impactful. Prakash Raj as the villain of the piece has precious little to do, becoming a footnote in the story.
A twist in the tale later and the film just starts dragging on for no good reason (average editing by Kodati Pavan Kalyan) and you wonder what possessed director/co-writer Shaneil Deo and Adivi Sesh (who shares writing credits) along with script guide Abburi Ravi to remain as indulgent as they do.
The only thing Dacoit ends up successfully stealing is your time, your patience and the money you shelled out to watch this on the big screen
Comments are moderated. They may be edited for clarity and reprinting in whole or in part in Variety publications.