DSP movie review: This Vijay Sethupathi-starrer is a king-size disappointment, thanks to done-to-death elements

2/5

Story: A happy-go-lucky youngster from Dindigul locks horns with a rowdy-sheeter after an unexpected incident. The latter hatches a plan to finish off the former. Years later, they become a cop and an MLA respectively, but their animosity towards each other only grew over the time period. How is the smart cop going to set a trap for the influential politician?      

Review: Director Ponram, who is known for his penchant for comedy and back-to-back association with Sivakarthikeyan, surprised one and all when he announced a cop drama with Vijay Sethupathi. The challenge for the actor was to surpass the performance he came up with in Sethupathi, another cop drama, which was released a few years ago.

But unlike the successful Arun Kumar directorial which was a compelling cat-and-mouse game, DSP is abundant in so-called commercial elements which end up diluting the core plot.

It begins with Vasco Da Gama (Vijay Sethupathi), a care-free youngster from Dindigul, who is keen on securing a government job upon his father (Ilavarasu)'s suggestion. The latter seeks the help of Mutta Ravi (Prabhakar), a rowdy-sheeter, who is quite influential in town.

But little did Vasco know that fate had another plan for him. He locks horns with Ravi in a public place and beats him black and blue. The dreaded criminal decides to finish off Vasco, but in vain. Vasco and Ravi go on to become a cop and an MLA after a few years. How are they going to settle the old scores?  

Though the film has a done-to-death plot, involving predictable family emotions and silly romantic track, the story features ample potential to weave a neatly packaged commercial flick. But Ponram wastes the opportunity with weak character designs and ineffective comedy sequences.

The protagonist and the emotions related to his family are convincing, but his conflict with the antagonist lacks novelty. Both the characters becoming a cop and a politician respectively appear unbelievable. It looks like the director has purposefully resorted to a convenient backdrop to make their conflict intriguing, but it hardly entertains.

Some of the so-called smart moves from the antagonist to emotionally dominate the protagonist are as old as the hills, leaving us hardly any reasons to root for the latter. Vijay has come up with an earnest performance, but his physique has gone haywire and looks unappealing as a stern cop.

Prabhakar, as the ruthless villain, isn't bad, but the characterization lacks fizz, because of which their conflict doesn't engage us. The likes of Ilavarasu and Gnanasambandam are apt in their respective roles, while the female lead played by Anukreethy Vas doesn't have scope to perform. Imman's background score is okayish, but songs are below par and hampers the film's flow.

The biggest disappointment in the movie is the lack of consistency in presenting flashback portions. After a point, we wonder about the time period in which certain portions happen. A set of characters introduced as the protagonist's colleagues have nothing to offer. Some of the sequences, like the one involving a cameo by Vimal, add no value to the progress of the story and test our patience.

Verdict: The movie relies on several tried-and-tested elements, but hardly anything has worked in favour of the story that features weak characters.

DSP is streaming on Netflix and Sun NXT.