Dark-tor: My quick take on latest Tamil movie “Doctor” (netflix)
Let me admit that I opted to see this movie because of its excellent reviews as one of the classic "Dark Comedy genre" movies, and also because it was accessible in kannada (along with Tamil, Malayalam & Telegu). It is expected to be the second biggest hit of the year in South (after Master). I enjoyed the film in bits and wished it had been cut to a more manageable length (in words of Kangana, कुछ कुछ जगह यह अद्रक की तरह फैल गया)
It begins nicely, with the establishment of the protagonist Shivakartikeyan (popularly known as SK in the south) as a Military Surgeon and his forthright and abrupt fiancée (Priyanka). This was the greatest portion of the film; however, the comedy pace fades as the film moves ahead, so does the character of Priyanka, who is reduced to a mere prop in the latter half of the story.
The story was unique and had the potential to be a great dark comedy in the spirit of Super Deluxe, Andhadhun, or even Jaane Bhi Do Yaro. The plot revolves around the kidnapping of a teenager, which leads to the busting of a human trafficking ring.
The main premise of the plot is how this 'unemotional' surgeon without heroics drops his scalpel and embarks on this goose hunt to free the kidnapped girl, who happens to be the niece of his ex-fiancée. As the film develops, more and more amusing people join the fray; Yogi babu is one such amusing character; he transforms this dark comedy into a "slap" stick comedy (pun intended) as he plays a hand slapping champion in the film.
The cinematography and gorgeous settings of Goa bring the story to life.
Although the kannada dubbing is good , the dialogs lacked the punch, I believe the movie would be “punchier” in Tamil (which is very important in such comedies). It was good to see a few familiar Bollywood celebrities in the film (Milind soman and roadies twins). If you can forgive the film's sluggish duration and mediocre action scenes, you might like this dark comedy.
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