Dasvi review: This lesson is boring

Some films deceive you with their name itself. Tushar Jalota’s directorial debut Dasvi, spelt the way it has been, in Roman alphabets, initially made me assume that it was on the theme of enslavement of some sort. Far from it. About a chief minister, Ganga Ram Chowdhury (Abhishek Bachchan) who has studied only till 8th, deciding to give his 10th class exams (“dasveen” is how it should be written) while he is stuck in judicial custody, it’s a film that refuses to hold its audience in thrall.

Problem is in the writing itself. The script (did I see the Dr Kumar Vishwas credited as a consultant?), a hodge podge of ideas, wants to wear too many hats and, in the process, none of them quite fits well enough. It seems as though the writers started with one concept and kept moving on to something else that caught their fancy, not giving up on any and retaining every element to create an overblown and bloated.

It starts off like a political farce but with none of the gags landing well. A CM pronouncing Biden as Badan, Trudeau as Tridev and Putin as Putani—is this the kind of asinine, infantile humor that grown-ups are meant to appreciate and laugh at?

The setting of the film is the imaginary state of Harit Pradesh (shot in Uttar Pradesh) with characters talking in irritatingly faux Haryanvi accent to emphasize on their rough and the rustic ways and the crucial political turning point—of the CM sent to judicial custody pending enquiry in a teacher recruitment scam, while his wife Bimmo, aka Bimla Devi Chowdhury (Nimrat Kaur) takes over as the CM—inspired from Bihar’s Laloo Prasad Yadav’s involvement in the fodder scam and his wife Rabri Devi getting into his shoes. Not to forget a nod to Mayawati’s obsession with statues as well.

This trajectory, of a timid and subjugated woman coming on her own, though also handled in the web series Maharani, is the one compelling and interesting aspect of the film but isn’t explored beyond a point. And kept at the level of broad comedy. However, the way we see Bimmo change—from taking care of the cattle to breaking into choicest of invectives—and her reveling in power and control is still way more interesting, if not credible, than the transformation of CM. In fact, it’s only an hour or more into the film, that we find the film coming to its essential point—of the CM preparing to give the high school exam—and then begins another interminable and uninteresting trudge into how he goes about it, aided by yet another woman, the jail superintendent Jyoti Deswal (Yami Gautam).

Rubbing shoulders with Bapu, Azad, Bose and Lalaji in his imagination (a bit of Lage Raho Munnabhai, some sprinkling of Forrest Gump) while studying history. Dyslexia and Taare Zameen Pe get referenced as he learns Hindi. How he goes about grappling with Maths and Science is as painful for the audience as sitting in the exams itself.

From a guy who endorses building malls over schools to the one who opts to be education minister of his state than CM, this change takes enormously long in coming.

Perhaps it’s to do with the demeanor of Abhishek. He is too nice, urbane, and sophisticated to look uncouth and corrupt enough to be a believable politician. The character doesn’t sit well on him, and the performance ends up feeling rehearsed than spontaneous.

Along with gender, the film throws in some half baked takes on the caste system as well. Like mere tokenisms or checking boxes than engaging with the issues in any substantive way.

There are too many quirky characters on the sidelines, including a TV reporter with a bad wig and needless song and dance routines, none of which grab attention. There is forced use of phrases like “mann ki baat” and “atmanirbharta” and just a handful of dialogue that work—the standout one is about how government officers receive bribe for working and salary for not working. And long after having watched the film, I am still wondering how someone who has studied till 8th can’t sign his name but resorts to five sticks and a dot his signature? Mounted like an amateurish school play, Dasvi is like a vast stretch of dullness, wearying and annoying by turn.

(Dasvi is playing on Netflix)