dada movie review 2023

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Dada Movie Review : Kavin excels in this well-written feel-good emotional drama

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One of the best movie 2023, must watch

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Dada Reviews

Thanks to ample support from its lead actors, debutant director Ganesh K Babu’s film about a single father and a fractured relationship turns out to be a wholesome entertainer despite few missteps.

Full Review | Nov 16, 2023

The long-winded and sappy drama Dada is supposed to be about a single father being the only caretaker for his son for the first four years of the son's life. But the movie spends too much time showing his job problems and not enough father-son bonding.

Full Review | Feb 17, 2023

Ganesh K Babu’s debut film is a restrained yet beautiful take on the many joys and complexities of parenthood.

Full Review | Feb 13, 2023

Overall, Dada is a well-written drama with the right mix of comedy, emotion, and love. It's something to watch out for this weekend.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 13, 2023

Kavin and Aparna Das-starrer rises above mainstream movies and sends out a strong message on parenthood. Directed by Ganesh K Babu, the film focuses on a young man and his journey of becoming a doting father.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2023

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DaDa Movie Review: Kavin, Aparna Das’ film is thoughtful and effective

Director ganesh k babu’s dada, starring kavin and aparna das, is a feel-good family drama that is quite sensitive. with good performances and funny moments, dada is a pick for this week. read our review..

Listen to Story

• DaDa is directed by Ganesh K Babu.
• Kavin and Aparna Das play lead roles in the film.
• DaDa graced the theatres on February 10.

Release Date: 10 Feb, 2023

When a creator tells the story of two lovers, rarely does the film find the right balance in portraying both characters. In most cases, the screenplay tends to take the side of the guy or the girl. Pradeep Ranganathan’s largely successful Love Today also sparked a similar conversation about the portrayal of the man and the woman in the relationship. However, DaDa is one film that has managed to capture the balance to a large extent.

Manikandan (Kavin) and Sindhu (Aparna Das) are final year college students. They are totally in love with each other. Sindhu gets pregnant accidentally and refuses to abort the baby. When Mani and Sindhu live together through monetary issues, cracks develop between them. Due to an unexpected incident, Mani is forced to be a single father. The rest of the film focuses on the struggles that Mani goes through. Whether Mani and Sindhu will get together forms the rest of the story.

Director Ganesh K Babu’s DaDa has weaved a heartfelt story that is layered and addresses a lot of issues. More importantly, the filmmaker decides to do away with the melodrama while dealing with the sensitive topic of parenting. The lead characters, Mani and Sindhu, are flawed. They are facing a cash and emotional crunch while expecting a new baby. This constant pressure makes the relationship grow bitter. The character arcs of both characters are shown beautifully.

Later, when Manikandan becomes a parent, we are shown how he grows as a person and a father. From knowing nothing about taking care of a baby to becoming a single parent, the journey is quite heartwarming. DaDa also has some nice fun stretches - courtesy Harish, Pradeep Antony and VTV Ganesh in a cameo.

DaDa is not a film without flaws. One of the major advantages of the film is that the positives outnumber the flaws. Certain clichéd dialogues could have been avoided. Also, the screenplay takes a predictable approach towards the second half.

Kavin and Aparna Das are perfect as Manikandan and Sindhu. Their performances are the backbone of the film. Kudos to Ganesh K Babu for writing solid characters for the supporting actors as well. Bhagyaraj and Aishwarya, as parents, have a decent character arc as well.

Director Ezhil Arasu K’s frames are enjoyable on the big screen. Jen Martin’s music and songs amplify the emotions in most of the sequences.

DaDa is a heartwarming film that talks about parenting and relationship woes.

'Dada' review: A well-written drama made with plenty of heart

Director Ganesh K Babu’s debut Dada revolves around an unplanned pregnancy. The story of the film isn’t path-breaking by any means, but what makes it enjoyable is the soulful treatment and witty writing. Take, for instance, the traditional confrontation scene of the lead characters.

Ganesh adds a pinch of realism to the sequence by having the heroine’s voice shake in fatigue, given that she has cried for hours; the hero, on the other hand, is too angry to pay attention to her. At one point, he interrupts her to say, “ Nee solradhu enakku puriyala; niruthi ozhunga sollu !” The scene may not offer tremendous insight, but attention to these little details makes the conversation relatable and grounded—and you can find this throughout the film.

Dada is almost like a marriage between a Radha Mohan film and a Selavaraghavan film. We have cute conversations between a father and his four-year-old about the educational system; we also have the shot of a girl biting the shoulders of her boyfriend in passion.

In the hands of an inferior writer, Kavin’s Manikandan might have ended up being the pinnacle of toxic masculinity and Aparna’s Sindhu would have been the sacrificing angel. But Ganesh makes it clear that Mani is not a brute and Sindhu is no angel. The characters are flawed in their own ways, and in their vulnerable moments, they confess their mistakes and wish things were different.

Recent Tamil cinema has featured heroes who seem immune to failure. Even when they fall, the elevation happens within seconds. Things, however, are different in Dada.

The much-desired redemption in Manikandan’s life gets delayed. He takes three or four blows on his face from life before rising above his situation. Even though his life-changing job offer comes through a recommendation, much like in Velaiyilla Pattathari, here, the win feels personal as we have seen Mani toil enough.

The film is emotional but is equally fun with a strong undercurrent of tasteful humour. When Mani and Sindhu feel that they have hit rock bottom and talk about finding a new rental house, a guy playing PUBG on his phone interrupts them: “ Ipdiye ovvoru veeda maari saava poreenga da !”

The overwhelming pathos gets quickly transformed into quality dark humour. Such good writing is ably handled by its impressive cast. While Kavin and Aparna pour in much life into the characters, supporting cast members like Harish Kumar seize their opportunities too.

Director Ganesh’s Dada can be processed as the story of a man’s pursuit of peace. The film opens and ends with a shot of Manikandan sleeping peacefully. Similarly, the story can also be seen as his quest to become a complete man, and a man who isn’t above crying. Though he proudly claims that he has never shed a tear in his life initially, he breaks down at two crucial places. That he isn’t alone in shedding tears during those vulnerable moments, speaks of this film’s power to affect.

Director: Ganesh K Babu Cast: Kavin, Aparna Das, Pradeep Antony, Harish Kumar

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

Dada movie review: kavin and aparna das-starrer rises above mainstream movies and sends out a strong message on parenthood. directed by ganesh k babu, the film focuses on a young man and his journey of becoming a doting father..

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.

Watch trailer here:

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.

Director: Ganesh K Babu

Cast: Kavin, Aparna Das and K. Bhagyaraj

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Where to Watch

Kavin (Manikandan) Aparna Das (Sindhu) Bhagyaraj (Manikandan's Father) Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran (Manikandan's Mother) VTV Ganesh (Gokul) Pradeep Anthony (Saravanan) Fouziee (Shadana) Arvind Janakiraman (Manikandan's brother) Kamaldeep Manimegalai

Ganesh K. Babu

A couple in love, accidentally become teenage parents. Unpleasant situations make them fall apart. Manikandan, left alone with his son, struggles as a single teenage father. Fate owns him, bringing Sindhu back into his life.

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Dada (2023)

• User Reviews
• A Remarkable script and stimulating screenplay
• Top Notch direction
• Laudable Performances from Kavin and Aparna and their organic chemistry
• Multiple Heart-warming and Heart-rending moments
• Jen Martin's magical compositions
• The second half is a bit stretched and cliched with forced humour moments which could have easily be trimmed.

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Dada Movie Review (2023)

• 10 Feb 2023

Ganesh K Babu's 'Dada', despite its second-half issues, is a solid relationship drama

Dada Movie Cast & Crew

Right from the opening stretch of Dada , Ganesh K Babu announces that he is a real filmmaker. What we’re watching is basically an "I love you" scene, but rendered without the words being spoken. You see this love, you feel it – especially when the contrasting background is that of a neighbouring couple screaming at each other. You know how you can keep looking at a loved one when they are sleeping, and just savour the blissful nothingness of the moment? This is that scene. What makes it even better are the gentle piano ripples (the score is by Jen Martin) and the gentler conversation that follows. It involves the topic of tears, and you think this is going to set up a big payoff scene at the climax. But no. When the payoff does happen, it is as unassuming as this scene: we see it in an autorickshaw mirror, in the middle of night, in the middle of nowhere.

The first half of Dada is the most satisfying young-love story I have seen since Elan's Pyaar Prema Kaadhal . Okay, it's not just a romance – but it has that same vibe of not wanting to push an emotion too much because "otherwise the audience won't understand". Ganesh trusts his lead actors to convey feelings through micro-gestures – and both Kavin and Aparna Das are superb as Manikandan and Sindhu. At one point, he kisses her casually and leaves. She looks into the mirror casually. She smiles a very small smile, again casually. The big idea is an unexpected pregnancy, and I loved every bit of how this was handled: the way (and the location where) this revelation is staged, Sindhu's anger, Maniakandan's helplessness, and finally the reconciliation in a silhouette shot. A less confident filmmaker would have had lines that underlined all of this, but we already know this "content", and the "form" is refreshing. Cinematographer Ezhil Arasu K does brilliant work with light and shadows, mirroring this couple's ups and downs.

The crux of the relationship dynamic is that Sindhu does not overcomplicate things, while Manikandan is torn between his love for her and his fear of a future he was not yet ready for. Sindhu adjusts easily into a lower-income-group flat, while Manikandan keeps thinking about their financial situation. The valaikappu scene is a beauty: again, no words, just a row of happy people except Manikandan, whose face reflects his mixed emotions. Even the decision to have the baby is similar: Sindhu simply says she wants it, while Manikandan is a mess of emotion. And subtextually, the rest of the film is about how – after Sindhu leaves him – he learns to live with the chaos of living. He learns to be as "let's just roll with it" as Sindhu. And that's why the film's ending makes complete sense. It just needs one realisation for Sindhu to do what she has to do. And it just needs that one line from her for Manikandan to do what he has to do.

Because so much of the relationship is so underplayed, and because there is no crude melodrama, the big moments really work. Dada breaks the cliché that looking at your child for the very first time is going to make you bounce around the room with tears of happiness. That may happen if you are ready for it, but Manikandan has a "oh damn, what do I do now!" look. Had the same scene played out with Sindhu, she would have instinctively picked up the child and cradled it on her chest. Later, when the child says " appa ", you expect an outburst of emotion from Manikandan – but both the director and Kavin keep the moment small, subtle, real. I loved the gender-neutral idea of two clueless men – Manikandan and his friend Amit, played by an excellent Harish K – raising a child. The director could have gone overboard with the poopy-diaper cuteness, but he doesn't. He is not after misogynistic jabs, either.  The only false notes in the first half – in a film so real – are the way Manikandan randomly gets a job, and again, equally randomly, gets another job. But I liked the takeaway tangential point that we may like to help others, and yet resent it when they become bigger than us. It's one of the many truly human touches in the screenplay, which treats its premise with respect and dignity.

But the second half is a big letdown. It's hard to say what really happened during the writing, but the tone changes completely and an utterly understated and real film begins to feel utterly contrived and cinematic and "commercial". We are basically waiting for the last 15 minutes (Aparna Das is amazing here), and until then, we are left with office colleagues doing the most childish things to reunite the leads. I hate it when two people live in the same city and yet conveniently avoid each other without a proper reason, and perhaps the couple's parents should have been utilised better. By the time we get to Manikandan getting drunk at an office party and doing a dance number, I'd almost given up. Why not use more of the Amit character – the rare male movie character who’s not embarrassed to say “I love you” to his male best friend? Okay, so Sindhu has a reason for the split, but after meeting her, would Manikandan not want an explanation for the things she does. Yes, ego does make certain conversations difficult, but then, why throw the couple together and keep delaying the inevitable?

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• 06 Feb 2023

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Baradwaj Rangan

National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, former deputy editor of The Hindu and senior editor of Film Companion, has carved a niche for himself over the years as a powerful voice in cinema, especially the Tamil film industry, with his reviews of films. While he was pursuing his chemical engineering degree, he was fascinated with the writing and analysis of world cinema by American critics. Baradwaj completed his Master’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations through scholarship. His first review was for the Hindi film Dum, published on January 30, 2003, in the Madras Plus supplement of The Economic Times. He then started critiquing Tamil films in 2014 and did a review on the film Subramaniapuram, while also debuting as a writer in the unreleased rom-com Kadhal 2 Kalyanam. Furthermore, Baradwaj has authored two books - Conversations with Mani Ratnam, 2012, and A Journey Through Indian Cinema, 2014. In 2017, he joined Film Companion South and continued to show his prowess in critiquing for the next five years garnering a wide viewership and a fan following of his own before announcing to be a part of Galatta Media in March 2022.

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Review: ‘Dada’ (2023), starring Kavin and Aparna Das

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Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran , Aparna Das , Arvind Ezhilarasan , Dada , drama , Ganesy K. Babu , India , Kavin , movies , reviews , VTV Ganesh

February 17, 2023

by Carla Hay

“Dada” (2023)

Directed by Ganesh K. Babu

Tamil with subtitles

Culture Representation:  Taking place in Chennai, India, the dramatic film “Dada” features an all-Asian cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.

Culture Clash:  Two unmarried college students, who are dating each other, have their lives changed when she becomes pregnant and gives birth, and he ends up raising the child alone as a single father after she disappears from his life. 

Culture Audience:  “Dada” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching a melodramatic and rambling story of single parenthood with a lot of far-fetched storylines resembling a soap opera.

The long-winded and sappy drama “Dada” is supposed to be about a single father being the only caretaker for his son for the first four years of the son’s life. But the movie spends too much time showing his job problems and not enough father-son bonding. This sloppily edited movie is also too bloated: It has a total running time of 133 minutes, when the story could have easily been told in 90 minutes or less.

“Dada” is the feature-film debut of writer/director Ganesy K. Babu, who made this movie look more like a very padded mini-series with a lot of unnecessary filler. “Dada” takes place over a four-year period, mostly in Chennai, India, where the movie was filmed. In the beginning of the movie, a young couple in their early 20s are cuddling together in bed in an apartment, while they hear the sounds of another couple arguing in a nearby apartment.

The couple’s names are Manikandan “Mani” Thambi (played by Kavin) and Sindhu (played by Aparna Das), and they seem to be blissfully in love. Sindhu and Mani are both classmates at the same unnamed university, where they are in their final year before graduating. The movie never says what Manu and Sindhu are studying at the university. It’s an example of how this overly long movie still skimps on some important details.

Things take a drastic turn in this romance when Sindhu finds out that she is pregnant. Mani wants her to have an abortion, but she refuses. To get away for a while, until they figure out how to tell their families about the pregnancy, Mani and Sindhu hide out at the house of a male friend of Mani’s named Anna. However, Sindhu’s parents report her missing and think that she might have been kidnapped by Mani, because Sindhu’s parents don’t particularly like or trust Mani.

Mani and Sindhu find out that she’s mistakenly been reported missing in a possible kidnapping. And so, Sindhu and Mani sheepishly come forward at the police station, where their worried parents have gathered. And that’s when Sindhu tells everyone that she’s pregnant. It’s awkward. And it’s very contrived for this movie.

Mani’s parents and Sindhu’s parents are very upset by this pregnancy news. Sindhu’s parents are even more disturbed because they believe that Sindhu’s unwed pregnancy has brought shame on their family. With their parents putting a lot of guilt and pressure on them, Mani and Sindhu, who were close to breaking up, now decide to stay together and try to make their relationship work.

Even if Mani and Sindhu wanted to get married to each other, they can’t afford it right now. Mani has a part-time job that can barely pay rent anywhere. At first, Mani and Sindhu decide to stay with Anna in his bachelor house, but he has too many guys over for all-night partying on a regular basis. Sindhu can’t take the noise and chaos in this house any more, so she and Mani move into a small, dumpy apartment. Mani and Sindhu continue to disagree over things, but they seem committed to staying together and possibly getting married after their baby is born.

Another turning point in the relationship happens after Sindhu gives birth to a healthy baby boy, who is named Adithya—a name that the couple picked out before the baby was born. But shortly after giving birth in a hospital, Sindhu walks out of the hospital and never comes back. A shocked Mani is told by hospital employees that Sindhu was not impaired mentally or physically when she left, and that she definitely abandoned the baby. Over the next few days, Mani and his family members try to find Sindhu, but they hear that Sindhu has moved away and does not want Mani to contact her. That was quick.

First-time father Mani tries to raise the baby as a single parent. And even though he gets some help from his mother (played by Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran) and his younger brother (played by Arvind Ezhilarasan), Mani feels overwhelmed, since he is trying to juggle taking care of a baby, his part-time job and his school responsibilities. Mani’s father (played by K. Bhagyaraj) isn’t very sympathetic, because he thinks Mani was irresponsible for having a child out of wedlock when Mani can’t even afford to take care of a family on his own.

All of this pressure becomes too much for Mani. He starts to resent the baby for being a “burden” on his life. And so, one night, Mani gets in a taxi with Adithya, because Mani is going to anonymously give the baby to an orphanage.

Mani lies to the orphanage employees, by saying that he found this infant abandoned on the street. When the employees ask Mani to wait for the police to take his name and his statement about how he found the baby, Mani panics and sneaks out of the building by pretending to use the restroom. Mani then leaves in the same taxi.

But guilt-ridden Mani changes his mind. He has the taxi driver take him back to the orphanage, just a few minutes after Mani left. Mani arrives at the orphanage to find a couple about to take the baby for an adoption. That was quick. Too quick, considering the orphanage never bothered to find out where this baby’s biological parents are and if the biological parents would want this baby to be adopted.

The movie then has this cheesy scene filmed in slow-motion, as tearjerking, dramatic music blares from the movie’s soundtrack, drowning out whatever Mani says to convince the orphanage employees that he’s the baby’s father and he wants to keep the baby. Mani is seen tearfully taking the baby out of the arms of the prospective adoptive mother. It all looks so fake and tacky.

“Dada” then rushes through a four-year montage of Mani being a devoted single father to Adithya, who is an adorable, obedient and playful child. Viewers see in this montage that Mani spent most of those years struggling financially, because he apparently had to drop out of the university and had to take low-paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. By the time Adithya is 4 years old (in other words, old enough to know if his father can afford or not afford the toys that Adithya wants), Mani decides it’s time to make a big change in his lifestyle and get the type of job that will give him a higher income and more stability.

And so begins the most tedious and rambling part of the movie, which becomes less about Mani spending quality time with Adithya and more about his struggles to fit in with the corporate culture at a vacuum sales company named Lazard, where he gets a job as a sales representative. Within a short period of time, Mani gets promoted and leads a small team that learns to respect him. What doesn’t go as smoothly is Mani’s relationship with his boss Gokul (played by VTV Ganesh), who constantly questions Mani’s intelligence and skills on the job.

But this wouldn’t be a phony-looking, soap-opera-ish movie without a big bombshell: Sindhu unexpectedly comes back into Mani’s life. This isn’t spoiler information because the movie’s publicity and marketing materials show that Mani and Sindhu are in contact with each other after Mani starts his job at Lazard. Mani is forced to interact with Sindhu on a regular basis for job-related reasons in the biggest “coincidence” that you can think of for this unimaginative movie.

That doesn’t mean that Mani will let Sindhu back into his heart so easily. He hasn’t forgiven her for abandoning him and Adithya, so Mani pretends that Adithya doesn’t exist when he has to talk to Sindhu, because he doesn’t want her to know anything about their son. It’s a very flimsy plot development, because several of Mani’s co-workers know that he is a doting single father, so it’s highly unlikely Sindhu would not hear about it. When Sindhu and Mani talk to each other, Sindhu doesn’t mention Adithya either, which Mani assumes is proof that she’s a cold-hearted and irresponsible mother.

In between the unrealistic secret-keeping in this very dysfunctional family situation, “Dada” is interrupted by some musical numbers performed by the cast members. The song lyrics are filled with more of the movie’s triteness, but the dancing is fairly entertaining. It’s too bad that the “Dada” filmmakers put more effort into these musical numbers than in crafting a realistic story.

The acting in this movie is serviceable, but undermined by the terribly hokey screenplay that’s like a fairy tale instead of a realistic portrayal of parenthood. The film editing is amateurish in how it sometimes lingers too long in unnecessary scenes, and then it choppily transitions to other scenes by leaving big gaps in the story. “Dada” goes off the deep end into implausibility toward the end of the movie, which throws in a “surprise” plot twist that is very manipulative and overcalculated to erase all the previous conflicts that were shoved in viewers’ faces for almost the entire movie.

Red Giant Movies released “Dada” in select U.S. cinemas and in India on February 10, 2023.

Dada Movie Review: A well-written drama made with plenty of heart 

Rating: ( 3.5 / 5).

Director Ganesh K Babu's debut Dada revolves around an unplanned pregnancy. The story of the film isn't path-breaking by any means, but what makes it enjoyable is the soulful treatment and witty writing. Take, for instance, the traditional confrontation scene of the lead characters. Ganesh adds a pinch of realism to the sequence by having the heroine’s voice shake in fatigue, given that she has cried for hours; the hero, on the other hand, is too angry to pay attention to her. At one point, he interrupts her to say, " Nee solradhu enakku puriyala; niruthi ozhunga sollu !" The scene may not offer tremendous insight, but attention to these little details makes the conversation relatable and grounded—and you can find this throughout the film. Cast: Kavin, Aparna Das, Pradeep Antony, Harish Kumar Director: Ganesh K Babu

Dada is almost like a marriage between a Radha Mohan film and a Selavaraghavan film. We have cute conversations between a father and his four-year-old about the educational system; we also have the shot of a girl biting the shoulders of her boyfriend in passion. In the hands of an inferior writer, Kavin's Manikandan might have ended up being the pinnacle of toxic masculinity and Aparna's Sindhu would have been the sacrificing angel. But Ganesh makes it clear that Mani is not a brute and Sindhu is no angel. The characters are flawed in their own ways, and in their vulnerable moments, they confess their mistakes and wish things were different.

Recent Tamil cinema has featured heroes who seem immune to failure. Even when they fall, the elevation happens within seconds. Things, however, are different in Dada . The much-desired redemption in Manikandan's life gets delayed. He takes three or four blows on his face from life before rising above his situation. Even though his life-changing job offer comes through a recommendation, much like in Velaiyilla Pattathari, here, the win feels personal as we have seen Mani toil enough.

The film is emotional but is equally fun with a strong undercurrent of tasteful humour. When Mani and Sindhu feel that they have hit rock bottom and talk about finding a new rental house, a guy playing PUBG on his phone interrupts them: " Ipdiye ovvoru veeda maari saava poreenga da! " The overwhelming pathos gets quickly transformed into quality dark humour. Such good writing is ably handled by its impressive cast. While Kavin and Aparna pour in much life into the characters, supporting cast members like Harish Kumar seize their opportunities too.

Director Ganesh's Dada can be processed as the story of a man's pursuit of peace. The film opens and ends with a shot of Manikandan sleeping peacefully. Similarly, the story can also be seen as his quest to become a complete man, and a man who isn’t above crying. Though he proudly claims that he has never shed a tear in his life initially, he breaks down at two crucial places. That he isn’t alone in shedding tears during those vulnerable moments, speaks of this film’s power to affect.

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Dada: Release Date, Trailer, Songs, Cast

• Release Date 10 February 2023
• Language Tamil
• Genre Drama, Kids & Family, Romance
• Duration 2h 15min
• Cast Kavin, Aparna Das, K. Bhagyaraj, Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran, VTV Ganesh, Pradeep Antony, Harish K, Fouzee, Kamaldeep, Arvind Ezhilarasan, Master Ilan Arjunan, Baby Nalan Premkumar, Master Arav, Master Bedal Sanjay
• Director Ganesh K. Babu
• Writer Ganesh K. Babu
• Cinematography Ezhil Arasu K.
• Music Jen Martin
• Producer S. Ambeth Kumar
• Production Olympia Movies
• Certificate 13+

About Dada Movie (2023)

Manikandan (Kavin) and Sindhu (Aparna Das), final year college students, become parents accidentally. Situations separate them, forcing Manikandan to raise his child, Adhithya (Master Ilan Arjunan), as a single parent. The film demonstrates the challenges that Manikandan faces while trying to make a good life for himself and his child.

Dada Movie Cast, Release Date, Trailer, Songs and Ratings

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• Movie - Dada - 2023

Dada  (2023)  الأب

• Release Date: 10 February 2023 (India) (more)
• Genre: Drama (more)

A relationship between 19-year-old Manikandan and 18-year-old Sindhu results in her having his child but deciding to leave both the son and Manikandan behind, so Manikandan struggles to raise his son ...Read more alone. However, an unexpected coincidence brings him and Sindhu together again.

• Ganesh K. Babu ()
• Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran
• Pradeep Anthony
• Arvind Janakiraman

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A relationship between 19-year-old Manikandan and 18-year-old Sindhu results in her having his child but deciding to leave both the son and Manikandan behind, so Manikandan ...Read more struggles to raise his son alone. However, an unexpected coincidence brings him and Sindhu together again.

• Release Date:
• India [ 10 February 2023 ]
• United Arab Emirates [ 9 February 2023 ]
• Bahrain [ 10 February 2023 ]
• Kuwait [ 16 February 2023 ]
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Original Title: டாடா

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We checked for updates on 245 streaming services on May 17, 2024 at 5:20:46 PM. Something wrong? Let us know!

Dada streaming: where to watch online?

You can buy "Dada" on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube as download or rent it on Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube online.

Manikandan and Sindhu, final year college students, become parents accidentally. Situations separate them, forcing Manikandan to raise his child, Adhithya, as a single parent. What follows is a beautiful tale of a father and son and their journey against all odds.

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The 10 best movies of 2023 (so far)

EW critics pick the standout titles from the first half of the year, from "Past Lives" to "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse."

Devan Coggan (rhymes with seven slogan) is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly. Most of her personality is just John Mulaney quotes and Lord of the Rings references.

Maureen Lee Lenker is a senior writer at Entertainment Weekly with over seven years of experience in the entertainment industry. An award-winning journalist, she's written for Turner Classic Movies, Ms. Magazine , The Hollywood Reporter , and more. She's worked at EW for six years covering film, TV, theater, music, and books. The author of EW's quarterly romance review column, "Hot Stuff," Maureen holds Master's degrees from both the University of Southern California and the University of Oxford. Her debut novel, It Happened One Fight , is now available. Follow her for all things related to classic Hollywood, musicals, the romance genre, and Bruce Springsteen.

Christian Holub is a writer covering comics and other geeky pop culture. He's still mad about 'Firefly' getting canceled.

When film historians look back at the pop culture of 2023, what will stick out to them? A robot who slays literally and figuratively? Nike sneakers? Gun-fu? Maybe intimate, personal stories about a mother and son, paths untaken, and teenage growing pains? EW critics Christian Holub, Devan Coggan, and Maureen Lee Lenker discuss all of that and more with the best movies of (the first half) the year.

A Thousand and One

History as seen from the street, A Thousand and One evokes film favorites from the past decade like Moonlight and Boyhood in its decades-spanning story of Inez (Teyana Taylor), a single mother who steals her young son Terry from foster care so that they can pursue the American dream of independence and family together. The film takes place over the course of Terry's childhood and teen years; like Moonlight 's Chiron, he is thus played by three different actors: Aaron Kingsley Adetola at 6, Aven Courtney at 13, and Josiah Cross at 17. Although other people come in and out of the protagonists' lives, A Thousand and One is especially focused on the unshakable bond between mother and son, as they try to survive in a gradually gentrifying New York City (depicted through occasional archival speeches from politicians like former Mayor Rudy Giuliani) that somehow always manages to be most expensive for poor people. Gary Gunn's skilled score keeps everything moving, from one time period to the next. The real highlight of the film, though, is Taylor's passionate performance. She's been a musician, a dancer, and a reality TV star, but here she proves she is truly an actress to reckon with. — Christian Holub

2023 is the year for crisp, cool takes on corporate IP. (See: Blackberry , Tetris , Flamin' Hot. ) But the flashiest (and the best) of them was Ben Affleck 's Air , the first film from Affleck and Matt Damon 's production company, Artists' Equity Studio. It follows Phil Knight (a delightfully gonzo Affleck), his company Nike, and employee Sonny Vaccaro (Damon) as they attempt to forge a business deal with Michael Jordan and develop the Air Jordan shoe line. Corporate business meetings and athletic shoe design hardly seem the stuff of scintillating drama, but as with so much of his work, Affleck leads with humanity, digging into the people behind Air Jordans and why that personal touch was essential to their success. Chris Messina steals scenes as unhinged, foul-mouthed agent David Falk, while Jason Bateman underlays his straight-man deadpan with subtle emotion as Rob Strasser. But much like Jordan on the court, Viola Davis is the GOAT as Jordan's steadfast mother, Deloris, who is determined to play hard ball for her son. In some ways Air is a thesis statement for Artists' Equity itself, a tautly written drama about upending traditional licensing deals in favor of a policy where athletes (and artists) get a piece of everything they touch. Air is a richly entertaining, nimbly paced ensemble piece, but it's also a passionate tribute to innovation and equity — something industry (entertainment and otherwise) could use a whole lot more of. — Maureen Lee Lenker

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Quiet, but never precious, this adaptation of Judy Blume 's beloved coming-of-age novel is everything fans of the book could have wished for and then some. (If you need proof, consider that Blume outright refused to sell the film rights for 50 years until writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig's insightful pitch came her way.) Abby Ryder Fortson leads the film as the titular Margaret, avoiding anything cloyingly precocious, opting instead for a relatable awkwardness that feeds her interactions with gal pals and cute boys alike. She's bolstered by an adult supporting cast including a luminous, yet harried Rachel McAdams as her mother, Barbara; Bennie Safdie as her nebbish, loving father, Herb; and Kathy Bates as Margaret's boisterous, affectionate grandmother. Craig, as has always been the case with Blume, never tries to talk down to her pre-teen audience or dismiss their intelligence. Instead, she meets them (and their parents) where they are with a poignant, funny, honest portrayal of puberty and growing up (understanding that for a tween buying a bra can be as traumatic as questioning one's faith). Margaret deserves a place in the coming-of-age movie hall of fame alongside the likes of Stand By Me and American Graffiti , particularly for the ways it treats girlhood with grace and gravitas, uplifting the fresh, relatability of Blume's voice. — ML

Asteroid City

Every time Wes Anderson makes a new movie, it feels like "the most Wes Anderson movie ever." That's because the director is constantly improving on his trademark mixture of intricately constructed fantasy worlds and deadpan dialogue delivery, and the powerful friction that results from the collision. Even more than The Grand Budapest Hotel or The French Dispatch , the nesting-doll structure of Asteroid City (which plays out as, essentially, a documentary about a play) can throw you for a loop upon first contact. But the deeper you go, the deep emotions about loss and changing times can strike with unexpected power. On the level of filmmaking, Anderson outdoes himself by riffing on genres as diverse as social realist Broadway theater and '50s Technicolor Westerns. The cast combines veterans of his movies (like Jason Schwartzman and Adrien Brody ) with newcomers (like Tom Hanks and Steve Carell ) and some of the most charming child actors you'll see on screen this year, all of whom get to put their own spin on Anderson's funniest dialogue yet. Sometimes Asteroid City goes black-and-white like the director's original Bottle Rocket short film, and in two truly transcendent scenes Anderson deploys the stop-motion animation he perfected on Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs . It really is the most Wes Anderson movie yet — of course it's one of the best this year has to offer. — CH

John Wick: Chapter 4

Several big-name film franchises came to an end this year, but no film finale was grander than this goodbye (for now…?) from Keanu Reeves ' gunslinging hitman. All four John Wick films have been directed by Reeves' former stuntman Chad Stahelski , and that continuity paid off in a fourth installment stacked top-to-bottom with one grand, colorful fight scene after another — each of which outdoes anything in the original — all executed to precision by a team that knows exactly what they're doing at this point. The John Wick series has always borrowed heavily from Asian action cinema, and finally paid that marker by giving Donnie Yen and Hiroyuki Sanada meaty roles that let them kick ass. But the biggest surprise comes from musician Rina Sawayama, who manages to repeatedly steal the screen in her film debut — and bring a whole different energy to post-credits scenes. — CH

When AI finally conquers humanity, I'll welcome our new robot overlords with open arms — provided they're half as fun as M3GAN . In a year filled with self-serious reboots and unimaginative genre fare, this horror-comedy is pure schlocky joy, centering on an awkward tech employee ( Allison Williams ) and the companion robot she programs for her niece. The trailer alone was enough to turn M3GAN into a social media sensation, and the film itself is an unhinged delight, following the titular android as she chops up tech CEOs and TikTok dances her way into our hearts. The horror genre is littered with killer dolls, but M3GAN is truly one of a kind — a lean, mean, meme-worthy machine who's both hilarious and deeply unsettling. You'll never hear Sia's "Titanium" the same way again. — Devan Coggan

While IP-driven blockbusters continue to fixate on the multiverse, Celine Song's Past Lives spins the ideas of paths not taken and alternate lives they might've created into an actually relatable, heartbreaking human drama. Nora (Greta Lee) and Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) knew each other as kids in South Korea, but naturally grew apart after Nora's family emigrated to North America. Twelve years later, they reconnect over Facebook and Skype — and Song disproves the old truism that the internet is inherently un-cinematic by drawing real pathos out of shaky connections and televisual catch-up conversations. Twelve years later, they reunite again, and the longing is almost unbearable. (Lee and Yoo do justice to comparisons with In the Mood for Love. ) Song is a playwright, but this movie is far from "stagey." There are nearly as many beautiful close-ups on puddles as there are on human faces — further proof that even the most romantic human stories are deeply formed by the geography that surrounds us. — CH

Polite Society

Like so many modern young people, Ria Khan (Priya Kansara) wants to be a superhero. But it's not like she's waiting around for a freak accident to give her special powers; instead, she practices fight techniques every day on her YouTube channel, honing her skills so that she can become a professional stuntwoman like her role model, Eunice Huthart — the kind of person who makes those big-screen Marvel movies possible in the first place. Ria soon gets the opportunity to put her fighting skills to the test when her beloved sister Lena (Ritu Arya) gets roped into a marriage whose beautiful trappings are just a cover for the sinister motives of her prospective mother-in-law (Nimra Bucha). In her feature film debut, director Nida Manzoor deploys the comedic timing and quick editing she sharpened on her Channel 4 sitcom We Are Lady Parts , and demonstrates once again the joy of seeing smart, funny women team up against the forces seeking to crush their dreams. — CH

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

When the first Spider-Verse premiered in 2018, the multiverse was still a niche concept, familiar only to comic book nerds and theoretical physicists. Five years later, we're inundated with movies about the multiverse — and still, no one's doing it better than Spider-Verse. Expectations were high for the long-delayed sequel, and Across the Spider-Verse proved to be worth the wait, a colorful, jaw-dropping spectacle that pushes the boundaries of studio animation. Directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson pack every frame with clever callbacks and giddy Easter eggs — but fan service is useless without a well-crafted story. (Cough cough, The Flash .) Spider-Verse expertly juggles both, following Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) as he struggles to balance his Spidey responsibilities with his loyalty to his family. In a sea of seemingly identical superhero movies, Across the Spider-Verse feels like the reset button we need. — DC

Makoto Shinkai's Suzume feels representative of this year in animation, where beauty and innovation have come from unexpected corners. One of the most successful anime directors in Japan, Shinkai broke through with American audiences in 2016 thanks to his surprise hit Your Name , a lovely story of two teenagers who keep switching bodies. Suzume furthers the filmmaker's fascination with our weird bodies: Shortly after magic-wielding adventurer Souta recruits the titular heroine to help prevent cosmic incursions from "the Worm," he finds himself transformed into… a chair. Rest assured this is the most lively chair you've ever seen (watch it hurriedly hobble down the street in pursuit of the cat that cursed it!) thanks to a blend of 2D and 3D animation techniques , as well as a potent metaphor for the post-pandemic experience — don't we all feel a little frozen in place? Don't we all wish similar civilization-shaking disasters could be prevented by locking the right door? As with Shinkai's previous two films, the soundtrack for Suzume comes from the Japanese rock band Radwimps, and they help deepen the emotions behind the director's out-there ideas. — CH

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