Daagadi Chawl is basically a realistic underworld tale but it is narrated in an entertaining manner. The fast-paced screenplay with regular action sequences and twists in the form of betrayals make sure you are glued to the screen. There is a nice balance maintained between realism and commercialism, although on some occasions, like the climax, the focus tilts more towards the latter.
The film can also boast of some stylish presentation, aided by some sleek and sharp editing and powerful background tunes. Aniket Khandagale’s camerawork too falls in the positive category. The era of 1996 is created in a fairly successful manner. Except on few occasions where tall skyscrapers are visible, which didn’t exist even 10 years ago. From the music, the Ganesh Visarjan song ‘Morya’ is enjoyable.
The film as a whole, however, doesn’t rise up to the expectations. The flashback period is not only lengthy but also predictable most of the times. This predictability works against the film the most because, as mentioned before, the audience has been exposed to such underworld sagas numerous times in masala Hindi films. Plus, the one incident that changes the life of Surya is also a tried and tested one.
Ankush Chaudhary is having a splendid run currently. He continues it with his believable act here as Surya. He juggles between being soft-hearted and angry with ease. But Makarand Deshpande is the most striking. He isn’t shown indulging in evil activities as it wasn’t needed. His small little glance is enough to generate terror. The actor playing DCP Khan puts on a convincing show.
Pooja Sawant does what is expected from the ‘heroine’ in such genre of films. Sanjay Khapre and Yatin Karyekar, as Daddy’s most trusted men, play their respective characters properly. Kamlesh Sawant is getting stereotyped as a ruthless cop. But, taking nothing away from him, he plays the character to perfection.