DaDa review: Enjoyable coming-of-age drama about accidental parenthood

The subject of parenthood, especially in mainstream cinema, has mostly been told from the perspective of a woman. Rarely, we’ve had a film where the story has focused on a man dealing with parenthood and his sacrifices in becoming a good father. Ganesh K Babu’s DaDa is an emotional drama about a young man dealing with becoming a parent, out of the blue, with a lot of maturity. This is also a moving coming-of-age drama of an aimless, college-going youngster thrust into embracing fatherhood when the entire world, including his family, has given up on him.

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The film opens with the shot of Kavin and Aparna lying together. Kavin is still sleeping and Aparna just enjoys looking at him while we hear a couple in the neighboring flat arguing early in the morning. Cut to the next shot, Aparna is crying as learns that she’s pregnant and Kavin suggests that she should abort the baby as they aren’t ready to be parents yet. Aparna is against the idea of abortion. Kavin and Aparna decide to move in together and take refuge at a friend’s house. As they get ready to embrace parenthood, living together becomes a hassle as they end fighting over little things. It reaches a point where Kavin blames Aparna for making their lives so miserable when he warned her about keeping the baby. Kavin is forced to raise the baby alone.

The most refreshing aspect of DaDa is that it sends out a very important message loud and clear – parenthood is gender neutral. Both father as well as the mother play key parts in raising a kid and their roles can’t be weighed or compared. As much as the film sheds light on Kavin raising his son alone and in turn becoming a better person as well as a father, it doesn’t try to showcase the mother in poor light. This aspect of the film and the writing is highly appreciable. It also never tries to make the father raising a kid alone a big deal. Even at a crucial juncture in the movie when Kavin and Aparna cross paths again, that moment is treated sensibly. The writing deserves a lot of praise as the film stays away from predictable moments.

As much as DaDa is emotional at times, it’s also thoroughly enjoyable thanks to the use of humour to lighten the mood. The situational comedy works in a big way to keep the entertainment factor ticking throughout the movie. Both Kavin and Aparna are great fit for their respective parts. Kavin comes across a major surprise as he’s someone who’s relatively new but embraces this character with strong understanding and plays it confidently. From the initial helplessness of becoming a father to slowly understanding his role and his responsibility towards his kid, Kavin sells his transformation so competently.

Film: DaDa

Director: Ganesh K Babu

Cast: Kavin, Aparna Das and K. Bhagyaraj

ott:10