Dude - Review

TL;DR - A Rare mainstream surprise with its heart in the right place.

To begin with, I didn't expect any movie to make it to my blog this year, especially Dude. I was skeptical even while booking the tickets, and the pessimism only grew when a couple of close friends said they didn’t like it. For context: I didn’t enjoy Love Today, and Dragon was just okay. But if skepticism can ever lead to a pleasant surprise, Dude definitely proves it.

I usually look for one out of two things from a film - a compelling narrative or solid entertainment. I don’t comment much on Tamil films because Tamil cinema, at least from what I have sampled, often misses both and at its worst, treats the female lead as an interchangeable prop, contributing no real agency to the story. It has been a long while since a mainstream entertainer offered a female character with intention, dimension, and presence. Dude does, and that alone deserves acknowledgement.

PR struck like a typical Gen-Z actor in his first two movies, but this time he steps up and shows that today’s youth can be chill and responsible. I also tend to avoid movies that tackle deep social stigma, mainly because most films fail to address them without resorting to violence or vulgarity. Dude takes a bold swing at such a topic without either and it lands. Yes, it’s important for today’s youth to discuss social issues, but it is absolutely not necessary to do so only in an A-rated format.

My only personal reservation lies with the lyrics, though that is admittedly a longstanding bias of mine; I tend to quarrel with song lines regardless of era. Even so, I did not expect Dude to linger in my thoughts, let alone find its way into my blog. Great job, team!