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Kanu Behl’s third feature film, Despatch, offers an unflinching and incisive exploration of the murky nexus between politics, media, and business, seen through the lens of a crime journalist. The film invites us to step into the fraught world of journalism circa 2012, a time when idealism often found itself buried alongside victims or auctioned off to the highest bidder. It paints a vivid picture of a profession besieged by gatekeepers, threats of violence, and other forms of thuggish silencing. The story lays bare the stark reality: battling a corrupt individual in power reveals that power itself is a hydra, with each head—no matter how distinct—belonging to the same body. This chilling truth underscores the systemic nature of the issues within the media landscape. At its heart, the film delves into the fundamental duality that haunts every journalist: the intoxicating thrill of chasing a “good story” juxtaposed against...

There are many investigative dramas involving journalists that stumble upon stories unexpectedly and end up discovering a mountain worth of data that could inconvenience some very important people. Despatch is one such story coming from the impeccable writer-director Kanu Behl. The lead of the show is a crime beat journalist who finds an interesting story and wants to dig up more intel to make it a headline for his newspaper. There are many characters that get involved in his quest to get to the bottom of his investigation and find legitimate answers.

Spoilers Ahead

Joy Bag

Actor par extraordinaire, Manoj Bajpayee is Joy Bag, the leading crime beat journalist with ‘Despatch,’ the daily newspaper. Despatch is struggling financially, but initially Joy is unaffected by it until he realizes there are ownership related matters that might render him out of work. Joy is keen on getting to the bottom of the...

Kanu Behl as a director is a mystery, in that his delving into genres and their templates, especially the neo-noir, goes so far off that it starts feeling like an edgier approximation of actually cool ideas. Both Behl and co-writer Ishani Banerjee’s idea is sound, i.e., to explore the nexus of journalism, the 2G scam, and the underworld through the perspective of a cog in the proverbial journalism machine: the old, grizzled newsman. Except, unlike most of these newsmen in movies related to journalism, Joy Bag (Manoj Bajpayee) in “Despatch” (2024) is not a righteous man, carrying a torch about the truth of journalism.

Bag is a relic of the past, comfortable in using technology as a means of communication (Nokia phones with Qwerty keypads), but miffed at the proliferation of technology creeping into his workplace, as that would entail news becoming more and more dependent on instantaneous reportage,...

Manoj Bajpayee is familiar with the crime genre. His breakout role was that of Bhiku Mhatre in one of the greatest Hindi films of all time, Satya, where we got a peek into a version of Mumbai’s underworld. Then he was in Shool, which focused on crime and politics in Bihar. He played Veerendra Pratap in Raajneeti, which was an amalgamation of Mahabharat and The Godfather. He was integral to the evolution of the landscape of Hindi cinema that was triggered by Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur duology. He is currently the face of the Silence franchise. Through The Family Man and Killer Soup, he has shown he is incredibly comfortable with flexing his acting chops through the episodic format on the small screen. So, I think it’s pretty normal to be hyped about his next project. But I’d advise you to keep your excitement at bay,...

Despatch Trailer Review (Photo Credit – YouTube)

The trailer for the Manoj Bajpayee starrer crime thriller film Despatch has been released by the makers. The movie will be released on the Ott streaming platform ZEE5. Take a look at our trailer review for the movie.

The Despatch trailer begins with Manoj Bajpayee playing a crime journalist for a publication named Despatch. He promises his editor that he will give him two front-page stories on the scams – 2G and Gdr. However, when he starts working on these stories, he realizes that he has signed up for a suicide mission. He experiences several obstacles on the way including a threat to his life. The plot revolves around how Bajpayee’s character eventually goes on to unravel the mystery behind these 8000 crore scams.

It can be safely said that Manoj Bajpayee is the show-stealer in this one. The Despatch trailer has several moments wherein...

~ After multiple festival rounds like Mami, Iffi and Jff, ‘Despatch’ is set to premiere on ZEE5 Global on 13th December ~

Global, December 3, 2024: What happens when the pursuit of a breaking news leads you straight into danger? ZEE5 Global’s highly anticipated investigative crime thriller, Despatch is about to answer that question in the most thrilling way possible. After debuting at the prestigious Mami Film Festival 2024 followed by a special screening at the 55th Internation Film Festival of India (Iffi), Despatch is all set to premiere on ZEE5 Global, the world’s largest streaming platform for South Asian content, on December 13. Produced by Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP Movies and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker, Kanu Behl, of Titli and Agra fame, Despatch stars Manoj Bajpayee as Joy Bag, a crime journalist who becomes embroiled in a dangerous investigation that threatens to unravel his life. The film also stars Shahana Goswami,...

Manoj Bajpayee In Despatch (Photo Credit – Instagram)

After the success of Bhaiyya Ji, Manoj Bajpayee is set to return with his upcoming crime thriller, Despatch. The film’s recently released teaser is generating excitement among the audience. The teaser also revealed that the movie will premiere on a streaming platform in the second week of December 2024.

What to Expect from Despatch

The makers recently unveiled a one-minute-and-twenty-seven-second teaser on social media. This teaser offers a glimpse into an action-packed and suspenseful drama. The teaser opens with a hasty attack on Joy’s house, leaving him terrified as he sits down for a meal. Soon after this, he receives a call from an anonymous person warning him to abandon his investigation.

Further, the teaser also hints that the movie revolves around an ₹8,000 crore scam. This sets the stage for Joy’s relentless quest to uncover the truth behind it. However, his...

Here are the highlights from Day 2 of Mami Mumbai Film Festival 2024:

Masterclass With Shabana Azmi

Veteran actress Shabana Azmi, recently honored with the ‘Excellence in Cinema Award’ by Mami, participated in a masterclass moderated by the versatile Vidya Balan. It was an enriching experience to hear Shabana discuss her remarkable 50-year journey in cinema. Reflecting on the challenges of performing in theater, she recalled a particularly memorable instance where she had to translate an English play into Hindi at the last moment, due to a language barrier for the audience. She also revealed how she enjoyed working with Mahesh Bhatt on Arth which was made without a proper script in place.

Girls Will Be Girls

Richa Chaddha makes her debut as a producer with Shuchi Talati’s directorial venture Girls Will Be Girls, which was screened on the inaugural day of Mami’s South Asia Competition, attended by Richa and her husband,...

After the blockbuster Season -1 with more than 48 million views, Kabir Sadanand is back with Virgin Woman Diaries Season - 2. While the first season was a bold step that talked about an 18-year-old trying to loose her virginity, the second season produced by Frogs Unlimited in association with Lehren Networks, would focus more on changing dynamics in relationships while taking the story forward. The new season is full of clean humour, drama and suspense to target a wider audience. ??

Says Kabir Sadanand, ?It was very clear from the onset we wanted to invest into good content and creating a new breed of creators for the online space. The first season has been a success story and season now is only going to take the show to the next level. There is humour for everyone in the story with a twist and drama.?

Interestingly, while the web series has been shot on 4K,...