Cast: Adivi Sesh, Mrunal Thakur, Prakash Raj, Anurag Kashyap, Sunil, Atul Kulkarni, Kamakshi Bhaskarla
Crew:
Cinematography: Dhanush Bhaskar
Editing: Kodati Pavan Kalyan
Music: Bheems Ceciroleo
Producer: Supriya Yarlagadda
Co-Producer: Sunil Narang
Banners: SS Creations, Sunil Narang Production
Written & Directed by: Shaneil Deo
Release Date: April 10, 2026
After experimenting as both actor and director, Adivi Sesh has faced a string of setbacks pre Panjaa. But destiny turned with Kshanam, a film that redefined his career and gave him the connect he had been searching for. Since then, he’s been on a ridiculous run. He went from the goofy charm of Ami Thumi to becoming the smart man’s action hero in Goodachari, HIT 2 and Major. Now with Dacoit, he’s ditching the spy games for a gritty, raw love story. It’s a massive gamble. Does he actually pull it off or has the streak finally run out? Let’s get into it.
Plot:
Back in 2005, Hari Das (Adivi Sesh) was a carefree soul who found himself drawn to Saraswati (Mrunal Thakur) and soon fell deeply in love with her. But in Hindupuram, society still split people into upper and lower castes and their love couldn’t stay hidden for long. Once exposed, everything began to unravel, Hari was accused of a crime and thrown behind bars. The real wound wasn’t the arrest itself, but the crushing blow of Saraswati’s statement against him. That betrayal cut deeper than any punishment.
Decade later, Hari breaks free from prison, carrying only one burning purpose: to make Juliet pay for the words that destroyed him. What truly happened in 2005? Will Hari’s thirst for revenge consume him or will the remnants of love and compassion find their way back into his heart? That internal conflict forms the rest of the storyline.
Analysis:
Dacoit actually kicks off with some real energy. The way it uses those jittery jump cuts and a flashback heavy narration to set up the central "burning issue" is genuinely slick. But once the titles fade, it just slides right back into that tried trope we’ve seen a thousand times: two strangers meet, fall in love, become rebels in their divided community and march towards a climax you can see coming from a mile away. It tries to be everything at once, juggling class divides, systemic oppression, honor, COVID-era struggles, and this forced attempt at a modern Romeo and Juliet parallel. It’s just too much. For instance (small spoiler here) in this whole upper vs. lower class clash, seven people get involved, one dies and the heroine basically ruins the hero's life with a statement. Yet Hari (Sesh) never really cares about the collateral damage or the actual people involved. It’s just "blind revenge" because he’s angry.
And speaking of Hari and Saraswati, the love scenes completely miss the mark. The chemistry and emotional connection between Sesh and Mrunal are so absent that you tend to become investigator yourself to find what's missing. Hari makes a crucial decision regarding her that initially spikes your excitement, but as their scenes drag on, whatever curiosity you had completely flatlines. Then there are the glaring logical loopholes. Take the jailbreak sequence: he could have so easily faked his death, but instead they go with him escaping right before the cops and it's totally unconvincing. By the time we reach the interval, the supposedly Sujeeth twist totally fails to give you that necessary kick.
Post-interval, the film starts to give a severe headache and honestly you can predict exactly where the story is heading. They try this non-linear flashback structure that sounds good in theory, but on screen, it’s executed like a confusing mess. Every action scene feels like a forced excuse to move to the next set piece (the Karuna Hospitals are purely there to be robbed). And the logic? Don't even look for it. You have characters having deep, drawn out conversations and debates while danger is literally breathing down their necks. Who has time to chat when you're running for your life? By the time you hit that mountain top, which feels like it was ripped straight out of a 2000s potboiler, it's exhausting. Kshna Kshnam, Anaganaga Oka Roju kind of films had this cat-and-mouse structure but screenplay was always pushing forward, here it gets more into repetitive space like Daud.
It’s a shame because Sesh is actually trying to kill it here. His body language is spot on and while he clearly did his homework with the Seema slang, the makers leaned into it so hard that a lot of the dialogues end up completely muffled or hard to understand. The clarity just isn't there and it's baffling why the team ignored it. Mrunal looks beautiful and acts her heart out with a character that makes zero sense half the time. Atul Kulkarni is great early on, but then the script just forgets he exists. And don't even get me started on Prakash Raj, Zayn Marie Khan, Kamakshi Bhaskarla and Zarina Wahab are completely wasted. Anurag Kashyap tries his best but nothing lands. Looks like Telugu-Hindi bilingual approach damaged potency in the script. The performances had some heart but nothing really elevates the scenes.
On the technical front, the production values are absolutely top-notch. But the soundtrack? It really doesn't help. Bheems Ceciroleo fails to deliver a single catchy tune outside of that one "Ruberoo" track. Thank god for Gyaani, because his BGM is honestly the high point of the entire film and salvages a lot of the gritty mood. And it's not just the music that missed the mark, the dialogues by Abburi Ravi fall completely flat and just aren't good at all. Editing needed to be sharp in second hour as the story progression seems halted. It just feels like shots placed in order rather than any attempt made at storytelling. We all know the open secret: Adivi Sesh usually takes the reins on the story and screenplay to engineer his own hits. But you actually have to hand it to Shaneil Deo for his visual execution. He genuinely succeeds as a director here, crafting every single scene with an almost Hollywood style flair. His shot making and overall taking are interesting. But as a writer? He did a grave injustice to Dacoit. For all its visual brilliance, the script is a chaotic mess and unfortunately that's exactly where Sesh's usual magical touch completely faltered.
Positives:
Lead performances
The core robbery concept
Cinematography
BGM
Negatives:
Story
Draggy screenplay
Weak dialogues
Logical loopholes
Poor character arcs
Bottomline: Adivi Sesh and Mrunal try to induce life but script falters like a botched crime scene.
Rating: 2.25/5
Disclaimer: The views/opinions expressed in this review are personal views/opinions shared by the writer and organisation does not hold a liability to them. Viewers' discretion is advised before reacting to them.
