Dacoit's Heist Plot Has a Major Flaw — And No One Noticed [Review]
Adivi Sesh’s Dacoit desperately wants to be a gritty, pandemic-era Western, but it fundamentally misunderstands what makes a heist thriller work. The real tragedy here isn’t the star-crossed romance; it’s the criminal waste of a top-tier cast on a script that thinks it's much smarter than it actually is.
What Actually Happened
At its core, Dacoit is a revenge story dressed up as a pandemic-era heist. Wrongfully convicted of a heinous crime, Hari (Adivi Sesh) stages a stylized prison break during the chaotic 2020 COVID lockdowns. After 13 years behind bars, he tracks down his estranged ex-lover, Saraswati (Mrunal Thakur), whose courtroom testimony put him away. With her husband currently hospitalized and needing an urgent heart transplant, Hari makes her a highly conditional offer: be the getaway driver for a massive robbery, and he will fund the surgery. Predictably, the heist goes south, forcing the duo on the run from the authorities across dusty highways.
The Real Story
The PR machine billed this as a high-octane pan-Indian blockbuster, but the pacing tells a completely different story. Director Shaneil Deo, who previously shot Sesh’s slick spy thriller Goodachari, proves that framing a beautiful shot doesn't automatically equal compelling storytelling. The script, co-written by Deo and Sesh, suffers from severe "cleverness syndrome." Almost every scene is overly engineered to serve a future twist or revelation, completely stripping the characters of any organic emotional depth. We are told Hari is a hardened, traumatised convict who survived over a decade in a cell, yet Sesh plays him with the frictionless charm of a rom-com lead. Furthermore, thrusting Saraswati into the role of a high-stakes getaway driver makes zero logical sense given her established backstory. It's a glaring convenience that shatters the suspension of disbelief before the getaway car even shifts into gear.
Why This Matters for Adivi Sesh's Career
Sesh has built a formidable reputation in Telugu cinema as the thinking man's action star. However, Dacoit is a calculated risk that backfires entirely. The Indian mainstream audience is evolving rapidly, and they can spot a hollow puzzle-box movie from a mile away. If Sesh continues to prioritize intricate plot twists over flesh-and-blood character development, he risks obsolescence in an industry that demands both spectacle and soul.
What Everyone's Missing
While audiences are distracted by the dusty car crashes and the Sholay-esque boulder showdown in the climax, they are completely missing the film's blatant misuse of caste-based violence. Early flashbacks reveal that systemic oppression is the fulcrum of Hari and Saraswati's tragic past. However, the script uses this heavy theme purely as a quirky plot device to give the central incident some weight, without actually interrogating the prejudice itself. It's a purely cosmetic attempt at depth that ultimately cheapens the film's entire narrative foundation.
Quick Facts + FAQ
Release Date: April 10, 2026
Platform: Theatres
Director: Shaneil Deo
Runtime: 138 Minutes
Cast: Adivi Sesh, Mrunal Thakur, Anurag Kashyap, Prakash Raj, Atul Kulkarni
Status: In Theatres Now
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dacoit a remake of a Hollywood movie? No, Dacoit is an original bilingual (Hindi-Telugu) script co-written by Adivi Sesh and Shaneil Deo. While it heavily borrows tropes from Westerns and classic heist films, it is an original story.
Will Dacoit be available on streaming platforms?
Yes. Streaming on JioHotstar in India after its theatrical run. Available internationally via the JioHotstar global app.
Why is Anurag Kashyap in Dacoit?
Anurag Kashyap plays a supporting role as a veteran police officer hunting the fugitives. He provides standard stunt casting, elevated slightly by his character's gimmick: a cop who recently took holy initiation and refuses to use a firearm.
Does Mrunal Thakur have a good role in Dacoit? Unfortunately, no. While Thakur has been delivering stellar performances recently, her role as Saraswati is severely underwritten.
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