DESPATCH rests on some fine performances and well-executed confrontational sequences

Despatch Review {2.5/5} & Review Rating

Director: Kanu Behl

Despatch Movie Review Synopsis:
DESPATCH is the story of a brave journalist. The year is 2012. Joy Bag (Manoj Bajpayee) is a crime journalist who works at a newspaper called Despatch. His marriage with Shweta Bag (Shahana Goswami) is on the rocks and he’s having an affair with Prerna Prakash (Arrchita Agarwaal), a young reporter at Despatch. There’s pressure on him to deliver breaking stories as the newspaper business is going down due to the rise of digital websites. He happens to find a lead about the killer of Shetty, a notorious gangster. He even learns that the cops are all set to catch the killer from a dockyard. Joy persuades the cop to join them and even gets a chance to investigate the killer, named Pappu Sangli (Nitin Goel). Pappu ends up revealing that he stole a file from the Vigilance office in Delhi at the behest of GDR builders. Joy starts to probe this story and soon realizes that a 2G scam, worth thousands of crores, has taken place and no one even has a whiff of it. If he breaks the story, he’ll go down in history, but the challenges remain. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Despatch Movie Story Review:
Ishani Banerjee and Kanu Behl’s story, loosely inspired by the J Dey murder case, is well-researched. Ishani Banerjee and Kanu Behl’s screenplay has its share of moments but gets too messy. Ishani Banerjee and Kanu Behl’s dialogues are straight out of life and even sharp.

Kanu Behl’s direction is average. On the positive side, he shows the characters very realistically. We often see period films which are based in the pre-2000 era. Kanu chooses to show the world in 2012 when the internet existed, but it was still a new world for many. Kanu is known to execute the confrontational scenes brilliantly and he continues his good work in DESPATCH. A few scenes that stand out are Joy’s face-off with a guest, Joy almost being killed by Pappu, Prerna and Joy checking out a flat and the aftermath, Joy meeting a builder and asking for a flat, etc. The scene where Joy runs from the data centre is hilarious and also quite nail-biting. The scenes of Joy and Shweta in their bedroom and later in the Delhi hotel are quite shocking.

Despatch | Official Trailer | Manoj Bajpayee | Shahana Goswami | Premieres 13th Dec Only On ZEE5

Soon, however, the film loses grip as it becomes too complicated. Though its run time is 155 minutes, one feels like watching a 3.30 hour plus saga. The finale would leave viewers with mixed reactions. Lastly, the director leaves several questions unanswered, and it will surely leave viewers dejected.

Despatch Movie Review Performances:
Manoj Bajpayee makes the film watchable, and he tries to rise above the script. He’s too good from start to finish but watch out for him in the climax; he’s something else. Shahana Goswami has limited screen time, but she rocks the show, as expected. It’s not easy to play this part and she makes it look effortless. Arrchita Agarwaal makes a confident debut. Rii Sen (Noori) has a striking screen presence and is too good. Mamik Singh (Silva), Hansa Singh (Nisha Lodha) and Kabiir Sadanand (Wadhwa) are lovely in their respective cameo performances. Salim Siddiqui (Ameel bhai) and Dilip Shankar (Rajdass; lawyer) appear in just one scene but leave a mark. Veena Mehta (Joy’s mother) and Ajoy Chakraborty (Somak Majumdar; Joy’s boss) lend able support. Parvati Sehgal (Varsha Rajput) is introduced in a way that one expects that she’ll have an important role. But she’s wasted. Nitin Goel, Anand Alkunte (Inspector Bhosle), Arun Behl (Suresh Contractor), Rajneesh Khullar (Chintu Singh), Amit Srikant Singh (Softlayer manager) and Nikhil Vijay (informer in the bar) also do very well.

Despatch movie music and other technical aspects:
DESPATCH is a song-less film. Sneha Khanwalkar’s background score is top-notch. Siddharth Diwan’s cinematography is raw and adds to the realism. Fabeha Sultana Khan’s costumes are straight out of life. Shruti Gupte’s production design is authentic. Vikram Dahiya’s action is as real as it gets. Manas Mittal and Samarth Dixit’s editing could have been simplified.

Despatch Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, DESPATCH rests on some fine performances and well-executed confrontational sequences. But due to a complicated narrative and long length, the impact gets diluted.