''Despatch'' is an Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

film directed by

Kanu Behl Kanu Behl (born 1980) is an Cinema of India, Indian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He assisted director Dibakar Banerjee, Dibaker Banerjee on the cult hit ''Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!'' and co-wrote ''LSD: ...

. The film is produced by

Ronnie Screwvala Rohinton Soli Screwvala (born 8 September 1956), known professionally as Ronnie Screwvala, is an Indian entrepreneur, investor and film producer. He has been named on Esquire's List of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century in 2008 ...

under

RSVP Movies RSVP Movies is an Indian film production and distribution company established by Ronnie Screwvala in 2017. Establishment In 2017, Ronnie Screwvala entered the entertainment business with RSVP after his exit from UTV Motion Pictures and produced ...

and it stars

Manoj Bajpayee Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of numerous accolades including four National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, and two ...

and

Shahana Goswami Shahana Goswami (born ) is an Indian actress. She is the daughter of Indian economist and writer Omkar Goswami. She became known for her supporting role in the musical drama film ''Rock On!!'' (2008), which won her the Filmfare Critics Award ...

in lead roles. ''Despatch'' was released on 13 December 2024, on

ZEE5 ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...

. It was showcased as a special presentation at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

and the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.

Plot

As news shifts to the digital realm, seasoned crime journalist Joy finds himself teetering on the edge of obsolescence. Resolute in his pursuit to uncover the next major story while navigating the complexities of his personal life, Joy embarks on an unyielding journey through the depths of Mumbai, revealing its most shadowy secrets. While doing his journalism, Joy gets to know about a big secret putting his life in danger.

Cast

as Joy Bag *

as Shweta Bag * Arrchita Agarwaal as Prerna Prakash * Anand Alkunte as S.I Bhonsle * Riju Bajaj as Tarun Khaitan * Purnendu Bhattacharya as Mallick * Prithvik Pratap as Jeethu Vishwas * Veena Mehta as Joy's Mother * Ajay Purkar as Prasad * Purnima Rathod as Mrs. Verma *

Parvati Sehgal Parvati Sehgal (born 23 August 1980) is an Indian television actress who appeared in the Hindi television drama series like '' Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya'', in which she played the main character of ''Komal Singh Thakur Saxena''. She also appeare ...

as Varsha Rajput * Rituparna Sen as Noori Rai (as Rii Sen) *

Mamik Singh Harmeet Singh Mamik popularly known as Mamik is an Indian actor, who works on television and has also worked in a few Hindi-language films. He is best known for his roles in films like '' Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'' (1992), ''Kya Kehna'' (2000), an ...

as Silva *

Kabir Sadanand Kabir Sadanand is an Indian actor and film director. Early life Kabir hails from an Air Force family. His father was a Pilot in the Indian Air Force. He is an alumnus of The Air Force School The Air Force School (TAFS), formerly known a ...

as Wadhwa

Production

Development

The project began in 2016 after extensive research into crime journalism in particular and the Mumbai underworld. The film was directed by

, known for his critically acclaimed works such as '' Titli'' and ''Agra''. Behl also co-wrote the screenplay with Ishani Banerjee and Vipin Agnihotri.

was cast as a crime journalist.

Release

The film was screened at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and later at the

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, where it received praise for its storytelling and performances. The official teaser of the film was released in November 2022 and the trailer came out on 3 December 2024.

Reception

Dhaval Roy of

Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

rated it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "''Despatch'' is effective in its depiction of crime journalism and explores the value of information that can save or end lives. Despite its pace and sombre vein, it’s a worthy one-time watch." Subhash K Jha of

Times Now Times Now is an English-language news channel in India owned and operated by The Times Group. The channel launched on 23 January 2006 in partnership with Reuters. It is a pay television throughout India. Until 2016, it was India's most popula ...

rated 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "''Despatch'' is a film that commands our uninterrupted attention and eventually, our respect for being what it is."

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 15260176
Despatch
on

Hindi-language thriller films 2020s Hindi-language films 2020s Indian films ZEE5 original films Films shot in Mumbai Indian thriller films Indian drama films 2024 direct-to-video films