Movie Review - Daaka: The poor boy-rich girl formula works

Gurnaaz Kaur

Punjabi movies are mostly comedies, period dramas, romantic comedies or stories glorifying village life. For a change, we finally have a movie that has suspense, action and thriller, peppered with comedy and romance. The Gippy Grewal fans are surely thrilled and they have the right reasons to be so. 

To what extent one can go when it comes to winning their love? Shinda (Gippy Grewal) is in love with Lali (Zareen Khan) but he comes from a poor background and is unable to make an impression on Lali’s father. The desire to win her hand in marriage makes Gippy resort to looting a bank. His partner in crime is Rana Ranbir (Balli), who has his own problems to deal with. An ailing daughter who needs a surgery is the most important one. 

So, there begins Daaka, the bank heist. Till this point, we get to admire Gippy and Zareen’s chemistry, the undying bond of friendship between Gippy and Rana and their ordeals, for one reason or another. In all this, it deems fit to go ahead with the plan of looting the bank. The plan is foolproof; its execution is as good and funny, in fact among the funniest scenes in the movie. But there comes another twist. Without giving out much detail, we would just add that they meet the local goon, Sukhchain Singh (Hobby Dhaliwal) and the mystery deepens.  

While we know this film is the first in Punjabi cinema to collaborate with T-Series, we have to agree it deserves the association. A great dose of twist and turns, scoop of comedy punches and a love story, Daaka packs it all with such perfection that one is hooked to the screen throughout. The screenplay and direction is pretty seamless. The few songs it has are recreation of old blockbusters but you don’t mind the fact because they are shot well and are enjoyable.

Gippy, who has written the screenplay, carries the film on his shoulders with such perfection and Rana Ranbir gives the right support to his character. The love story has its troubles but the way Gippy conveys them makes it relatable and believable. Zareen looks charming and the flawless dubbing makes us forget she doesn’t know Punjabi. We don’t see her much, yet she makes her presence felt. Hobby Dhaliwal as the goon is very impressive. It won’t be wrong to say he looks even better in a negative role. Mukul Dev’s acting is good too. He portrays a cop with conviction.

The story maybe a clichéd one, the execution still gets the thumbs-up. To have such a well-crafted tale in Punjabi cinema is a matter of pride. It reflects the growing technical strength of the industry.  

If you liked Gippy Grewal and Zareen Khan in Jatt James Bond, you will love this one. This well-narrated suspense-thriller is a complete entertainer and sets a new benchmark in Punjabi cinema.

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The story maybe a clichéd one, the execution still gets the thumbs-up. To have such a well-crafted tale in Punjabi cinema is a matter of pride. It reflects the growing technical strength of the industry.