Set in 2021, the film opens in a prison, where we are introduced to the criminal Hari (Adivi Sesh). It has been 13 years since Hari was falsely incarcerated on murder charges, betrayed by none other than his former sweetheart Saraswati (Mrunal Thakur). Bitter and hardened, Hari devises a plan to escape with the help of a friend (Atul Kulkarni).
After successfully escaping from jail, Hari, instead of lying low, immediately sets out in search of Saraswathi. He realises that Saraswathi, who is now married and has a three-year-old daughter, is in dire need of money for her husband’s heart transplant surgery. He also notices how the hospital is exploiting vulnerable patients and selling organs to private buyers at double prices.
Hari himself needs funds to flee to Dubai and begin life anew, and so, taking advantage of her situation, he involves Sarawathi in his plan to steal from the hospital, all while concealing his ulterior motives.
Will their heist be successful? Will he find out why Saraswathi betrayed him? Will this outlaw ultimately prove he has a heart of gold?
While the film does answer all these questions, the plot is paper-thin and over-the-top. By the second half, the melodrama becomes too much to handle.
What’s presented as a star-crossed forbidden love story, with Hari giving Saraswathi the nickname ‘Juliet,’ turns out to be predictable and lacking in depth. The makers go overboard in an attempt to make the story twisted, but you never end up connecting to the character`s pain, and you spend half the movie confused about whether Saraswathi is the villain or the victim. Mrunal Thakur`s sincerity keeps the film afloat despite bad writing. Adivi`s performance, though good, stops short of being emotionally resonant. He brings the intensity and shines in the action-packed scenes, but fails to capture his character`s inner turmoil, largely due to the hare-brained script.
And worst of all, the hero does not live up to the eponymous title. His robberies are simply amateur, and in no world can he be taken seriously as a `dacoit`. While the idea of an action-packed revenge drama set against the backdrop of a corrupt system sounds appealing, the execution misses the mark.
Anurag Kashyap`s character exists only to decode all the mysteries and twists for the audience and to establish Hari`s innocence. Prakash Raj, who plays the head of Karuna hospitals, is underutilised, barely having any screen time and leaving no impact.
For a film shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi, the Hindi dubbing is awful, at the very least taking you out of the cinematic experience if not inducing a headache. The background music is too loud and jarring, and instead of being strategically placed, the score has been overwhelmingly placed in almost every scene. Good music can make or break a love story, and unfortunately, Dacoit`s songs do the latter.
Despite Mrunal and Adivi`s best efforts, the film is neither a gripping action drama nor an arresting love story.
