Athul KRAJ

Daveed, directed by debutant Govind Vishnu, is something I watched on Zee5. First off, full credit to Pepe (Antony varghese) for the effort he put into this film — physically and emotionally, he gave it his all. But sadly, that dedication couldn’t shine through due to weak writing. Now coming to Justin Varghese — that man truly made a comeback! With Painkilli and Daveed releasing on the same day, the standout in both for me was his music. The background scores, especially in the training sequences, were amazing. I really loved those tracks. However, because of the poor writing, even the good BGM didn’t land with the kind of emotional impact it could have had. As a debutant, Govind Vishnu shows promise. He clearly has the eye and skill to make better films. But the biggest issue here is the writing. The storytelling lacked originality. Most of the scenes — particularly the training parts — felt like recycled versions of things we’ve seen in countless other boxing or sports dramas. So, nothing felt new or exciting. There were a few character moments that stood out — especially between Pepe and Lijomol, who delivered solid performances. But overall, the emotional connections felt underdeveloped. The kid’s performance felt quite cringe, and that’s rare for me to say. And I’ve never seen Vijayaraghavan this underused — a talented actor like him deserved a much better role. Mo Ismail as Pepe’s opponent was a positive surprise. He had the right attitude, brought good energy to the screen, and his performance was decent. I actually enjoyed watching him. Visually, some camera shots felt unnecessary, added more for style than substance, and they didn’t really add anything to the story. The biggest problem, though, was the lack of impact. Sports dramas are supposed to give you that adrenaline rush, those goosebump moments — but Daveed never reached that point. The emotional highs were missing, and even the flashback scenes, which had the potential to add depth, ended up falling flat. In the end, Daveed felt like a failed attempt at something that had real potential. It could work as a light, timepass watch, but nothing more. A stronger script could have made all the difference.