Dada (2023 film)

Dada (transl. Father) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Ganesh K. Babu in his directorial debut.[3] It stars Kavin and Aparna Das, while K. Bhagyaraj, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran, and VTV Ganesh play supporting roles. The music was composed by Jen Martin. The film released theatrically on 10 February 2023, where it received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success at the box office.

Dada
Directed byGanesh K. Babu
Written byGanesh K. Babu
Produced byS. Ambeth Kumar
Starring
CinematographyEzhil Arasu K.
Edited byKathiresh Alagesan
Music byJen Martin
Production
company
Olympia Movies
Distributed byRed Giant Movies
Release date
  • 10 February 2023 (2023-02-10)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budgetest. ₹4 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹20.9 crore[2]

Plot

Manikandan and Sindhu are final-year college students and are in a relationship. However, Sindhu becomes pregnant, and their lives change. Mani asks Sindhu for an abortion, but she refuses and they both rent a house. Due to Mani's drinking problem, he mistreats Sindhu by not paying attention to her and not caring about her. After Sindhu gives birth, Mani reaches the hospital to see Sindhu missing and leaving the baby behind. It came to his attention that she had run away somewhere far. Thus, caring for the baby, Mani names his child Aditya and raises him to be a gentleman.

After a few years, Mani searches for a new job, where he finally lands a job and meets Sindhu in the same company. Knowing that she is the manager of the company, he was very scared to work at the office at first but later starts to feel good about going to the office. One day, Mani brings Aditya to his office. When Sindhu meets Aditya, he tells her that Mani is his father, which meant that Aditya was her son. After realizing this, Sindhu converses with Mani. When Mani asks Sindhu about leaving the baby despite his insistences for an abortion, Sindhu reveals that her parents had lied that the baby had died and she thought it was due to Mani's irresponsible behavior and left him. After clearing the misunderstanding, Aditya, Sindhu, and Mani reunite as a family.

Cast
  • Kavin as Manikandan
  • Aparna Das as Sindhu Manikandan
  • K. Bhagyaraj as Mani's father
  • Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran as Mani's mother
  • VTV Ganesh as Gokul
  • Pradeep Antony as Saravanan
  • Master Ilan Arjunan as Aditya Manikandan
  • Baby Nalan Premkumar as an infant Aditya
  • Fouzee as Shadana
  • Arvind Ezhilarasan as Manikandan's brother
  • Harish K. as Amith
  • Kamaldeep
  • Master Arav
  • Master Bedal Sanjay

Production

The project was announced by debutant filmmaker Ganesh K. Babu, and also marked Aparna Das's debut as the lead actress in Tamil after previously making her debut in a small role in Nelson's directorial venture Beast (2022).[4]

The principal photography of the film began in March 2022 and the film was predominantly shot and set in Chennai.[5] The shooting of the film was wrapped up in September 2022.[6]

Themes

Dada focuses on the life of a young man, who later adores the role of fatherhood and as a single parent. It sends out a stronger message indicating that parenthood is gender neutral. It is also loosely based on true events of director Ganesh K. Babu's friend's life.[7][8]

Release

Theatrical

The film was released in over 400 theatres across Tamil Nadu.[9] The Tamil theatrical release for the film was acquired by Red Giant Movies and overseas rights bagged by Ayngaran International.[4]

Home media

The digital streaming rights of the film has been bagged by Amazon Prime Video while the satellite rights has sold to Kalaignar TV. The film was made available on the streaming platform from 10 March 2023.[10]

Reception

Critical response

Logesh Balachandran of The Times of India gave 3.5 stars out of 5 stars and wrote "Director Ganesh K. Babu's writing is effective enough to pull the audience into the world of Manikandan, a single parent, who gets into that redemption phase."[11]

Navein Darshan of Cinema Express gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film is emotional but is equally fun with a strong undercurrent of tasteful humour."[12]

Janani K from India Today gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "DaDa is a heartwarming film that talks about parenting and relationship woes."[13]

Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times wrote "The most refreshing aspect of DaDa is that it sends out a very important message loud and clear – parenthood is gender neutral"[14]

Bhuvanesh Chandar of The Hindu wrote "The writing, on the other hand, only solidifies. There are some really enjoyable, heart-melting touches in the second act"[15]

References
  1. "Dada Box Collection". Sacnilk. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  2. "Dada Box Office Collection". Sacnilk. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
  3. Chandar, Bhuvanesh (2023-02-10). "'DaDa' movie review: Kavin, Aparna Das impress in this emotional rollercoaster". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  4. "Kavin's Dada to release in this month". CinemaExpress. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  5. "Kavin's Dada to release on November 18?". CinemaExpress. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  6. "Kavin & Aparna Das' 'Dada' teaser". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  7. "DaDa review: Enjoyable coming-of-age drama about accidental parenthood". Hindustan Times. 2023-02-10. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  8. "'Our film will break stereotypes about parents': Actors Kavin and Aparna Das". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2023-02-10. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  9. "Kavin's 'Dada' to release on over 400 screens in Tamil Nadu". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-02-11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  10. "Kavin starrer Dada gets OTT release date". The Indian Express. 7 March 2023. Archived from the original on 2023-03-07. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
  11. "Dada Movie Review : Kavin excels in this well-written feel-good emotional drama". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  12. "Dada Movie Review: A well-written drama made with plenty of heart". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 2023-03-17. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  13. "DaDa Movie Review: Kavin, Aparna Das' film is thoughtful and effective". India Today. Archived from the original on 2023-03-18. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  14. "DaDa review: Enjoyable coming-of-age drama about accidental parenthood". Hindustan Times. 2023-02-10. Archived from the original on 2023-03-16. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  15. Chandar, Bhuvanesh (2023-02-10). "'DaDa' movie review: Kavin, Aparna Das impress in this emotional rollercoaster". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2023-03-15. Retrieved 2023-03-17.
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