Manoj Bajpayee in 'Despatch'
‘Headless Body in Topless Bar’ — the eyeball-grabbing headline from the New York Post is plastered on the walls of Despatch, the newspaper where Joy Bag (Manoj Bajpayee) works as a crime reporter.
Dark humour pervades Kanu Behl’s latest film set in 2012, where print journalists scramble to stay relevant as news transitions to digital.
Joy (who ironically finds joy only in sex and exclusives) is always on the hunt for sensational cases that will keep his byline on the front page for a few weeks. His marriage is falling apart, and the only thing keeping him ticking is his passion for breaking stories.
But ‘Despatch’ feels more like a character study in moral gymnastics than a crime drama. Joy and the women he beds are all in ethical limbo, using each other as career catapults.
No wonder the viewer feels little sympathy for the protagonist, who soon finds himself caught between the D-company and the Rajan gang while chasing the next big story on the 2G scam and the murky deals of T20.
While Bajpayee plays the flawed, messy, hormone-driven man with raw expression, his search for a missing file brings out a parade of predators and prey, making the drama increasingly confusing with every new lead.
But despite the lack of criminal intrigue, it’s the sinister depths of human behaviour that makes ‘Despatch’ an uncomfortably engaging watch.