It’s normal for most people, regardless of gender, to wonder at least once how they would be if they were to become a single parent by chance. Think along the lines of a relationship that grows and ruptures, with the man having to raise a child on his own, and it opens door to a wide range of stories for the screen. In DaDa, debutant Ganesh K Babu writes a solid storyline with this and the film is impressive despite the conventional treatment of the screenplay.
We open to a long, lingering shot that closes in on Manikandan (Kavin) waking up to his college sweetheart Sindhu (Aparna Das) resting on his shoulder, shedding tears of happiness. There’s airtight intimacy between them. As he wonders the reason behind those happy tears, we, along with Sindhu, realise that Mani has never cried. “I didn’t cry even when I was an infant and it’s not like I haven’t tried. I am just unable to,” he informs. Sindhu leans forward and kisses him on the cheek. From the camera angle to the kiss and to what we know of these characters here, many details from this simple introduction scene get reflected later on in pivotal moments. One of the many signs of a good screenplay is this — it knows what it sets out to do and it effectively sets out some convincing high points for pay-offs.
And as one realises later, the abovementioned is also the only scene in the film that is meant to establish the relationship between the two because director Ganesh has no interest in telling a conventional ‘boy-meets-girl and they run around trees’ tale. The girl becomes pregnant by accident and decides to not abort the baby. Being unexpectedly forced to bear adulting responsibilities, Mani struggles to find a grip on reality, turns to alcohol, and the relationship with Sindhu begins to fracture. After many unfortunate developments, the baby is born but Sindhu seemingly deserts both her partner and her child. Mani now has to face the harsh realities of being a single father.
DaDa (Tamil)
The first thing that one begins to notice in DaDa is its colourful frames which are mostly close-ups. However, the visual language is incoherent in most scenes of the first half. Some shots impress — like the composition in a shot where a drunk Mani, ridden with guilt and shame, looks down as he passes Sindhu in the doorway — but then, there are also some handheld close-ups that look rather amateurish.
The writing, on the other hand, only solidifies. There are some really enjoyable, heart-melting touches in the second act. For instance, in the days after the baby’s birth and Sindhu’s disappearance, the focus is fixed on how Mani is grappling with this sudden turn of events and it is only after a stranger talks to Mani and asks about it do we get the details of the baby’s biological sex and name (they name him Aadhithya, as Sindhu and Mani had earlier agreed). In any usual case, these details would have taken more priority. Here, both the audience and Mani have been following these sudden turbulent events that happen over two days, and it’s as if such details are either passed without notice or are lost in the overwhelming nature of the situation.
DaDa comes into its own in this second act, as a feel-good drama about a father and a son with ample doses of comedy (Harish K’s character Amit and VTV Ganesh’s cameo bring in the much-needed levity). However, just as we settle down and begin to expect more from this emotional story about this father and son, the film begins to travel in some tried-and-tested areas. It’s not a surprise to anyone that Sindhu will make a comeback into the film — the very set-up of the character was such that it was obvious. But, unfortunately, Aadhithya is nowhere to be seen for some time and what follows is rather too easy to predict. An important scene featuring K Bhagyaraj and Aishwarya Bhaskaran (who play Mani’s parents) proves to be necessary but it also feels like it has been fit forcefully into proceedings.
What saves the film during these mediocre portions are the performances by Kavin and Aparna Das. Kavin, in fact, gets more opportunities than Aparna to give show his varied skillset, and he is most impressive when he shows vulnerability. Watch out for this sequence set around an orphanage — help from background score aside, Kavin goes from minimal to maximal in a linear stroke with much ease and conviction.
Kavin and Aparna Das in a still from ‘DaDa’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It’s safe to say that Kavin is a promising star in the making, and a character like Manikandan is just what he needed. Yes, like a conventional commercial cinema hero, he gets to drunk-dance in a soup song and even becomes a saviour to many characters. He also gets a harmless call-back to his breakout hit film Lift. But none of these turns out to be a disturbance; they also don’t disturb the tone as most of these get a humorous twist somewhere and it goes well with the film’s treatment of juxtaposing comedy and drama. Importantly, Kavin’s Manikandan is a very flawed character who does and says some unforgivable things and is made to face the consequences of his mistakes.
In more than a few places, the performances and the music by Jen Martin leave you teary-eyed. Most of the emotional beats land well, and if only for a bit more novelty in how the story progresses, DaDa might have become more than what it settled to be. It nevertheless is an effort that is definitely worth a watch.
DaDa is currently running in theatres
