Despatch: Manoj Bajpayee’s stellar show meets a story that misses its mark

The first fifteen minutes of this direct-to-Zee5 release had me hooked. I was looking forward to an interesting (at times dangerous) life of a crime reporter, who can go to any length to uncover and expose a scandal. But alas, Kanu Behl's Despatch eventually turned out to be a laborious watch and a thoroughly lost opportunity...

Loosely based on the life of investigative journalist J. Dey, the film boasts of some wonderful performances by its lead cast. Manoj Bajpayee is reliably brilliant as Joy Bag, the libidinous crime reporter hitting on a scam too big to handle. Shahana Goswami as his neglected estranged wife, pitches in yet another super fine act. As for Arrchita Agarwaal, she is an actor to watch out for. Totally at ease in emotional as well as bold scenes, she outperforms Bajpayee in certain scenes. Something she deserves an applaud for!!

Actually, Despatch had a lot of potential at concept level but it's the execution which is a huge letdown. The film never gets to its point even after two and half hours runtime. Oofff!! Big names like D, Rajan, Wadhwa, etc etc. are thrown in for good measure but we never connect with them at all, making it all sound so superficial. By comparison, note what Rohan Sippy did with the name 'Michael Barbosa' in his highly underrated Dum Maaro Dum (2011). That is exactly what was needed here...

Also, those constant sex scenes signify zilch after a point. Manoj Bajpayee might have been motivated enough to go bold and bare but it all adds up to nothing from the narrative standpoint. Okay, so this journalist dude had multiple sex partners but does it really add value to the overall story?? Nope!!!

Finally, Despatch ends up being a 'risk it" fare. And thats quite sad as the movie had tremendous potential at concept level. Alas!!

Ratings on some key aspects* :
1. Acting : 4/5
2. Direction : 2/5
3. Music : 2/5
4. Story, Screenplay and Dialogue : 3/5
5. Cinematography : 3/5
6. Editing : 2/5
7. Costume Design : 3.5/5
8. Special Effects and VFX : NA
9. Action : NA
10. Production Quality : 3/5

#SNRating for #Dedpatch : 2 & 1/2 stars out of 5.

#SNRatings barometer:
1 star = Poor
1 & 1/2 star = Below average/ Avoidable
2 stars = Average
2 & 1/2 stars = Above average/ Risk it
3 stars = Good enough/ Endurable
3 & 1/2 stars = Definitely worth a watch
4 stars = Very good
5 stars = Masterpiece/ Outstanding.

Also Read: Kanu Behl on presenting his most honest film, Despatch at IFFI