DC — Review
A sad gangster story, and a director who turns out to be a good actor.
Our reading of 3 published reviews, ranging from 3 to 3.5 out of 5.
DC is the most confident film of the month. Arun Matheswaran takes Devdas, the famous novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay, and turns it into a Tamil gangster tragedy. The big risk was casting director Lokesh Kanagaraj as the hero. That risk is now the thing critics praise most.
Reviews have been steadily positive about the making and the acting. Where people have doubts, it is about the slow pace, not the quality. This is a heavy film that takes its time.
Where to watch
In cinemas since 7 August. No OTT date yet. We will update this page when one is announced.
The scorecard
Story & Screenplay
3/5A hundred-year-old story moved to a new place, and it fits well.
Using Devdas as the base gives the film a shape most gangster movies do not have. This is a story about a man destroying himself, not about a man rising to the top. Because the ending comes from the original book, it feels earned rather than forced.
The cost is pace. The film cares more about mood and decay than about plot, so anyone expecting a normal rise-and-fall thriller will find the middle slow. That is a choice, not a mistake, but it will not suit everyone.
Direction
3.5/5Matheswaran’s most controlled film so far. Stylish without being empty.
Matheswaran has always mixed violence with a kind of poetry. Here he points it at something sadder than his earlier films. Reviewers mainly credit him for keeping the tone steady, which is hard in a film this bleak.
It is still very much a director’s film. If the style does not work for you there is nothing else to fall back on, which is why the few cooler reviews call the same scenes self-indulgent.
Acting
4/5Lokesh Kanagaraj is a real surprise, and Wamiqa Gabbi takes the film from him.
Casting a working director as your hero is a genuine gamble, and it paid off. Reviews describe a confident, intense first performance with real presence. It is not the novelty turn many people expected.
Wamiqa Gabbi is the one critics keep coming back to, especially in the second half, where several reviews say she simply takes over. Sanjana Krishnamoorthy is good in support.
Camera & Visuals
4/5A beautiful film. The best-looking Tamil release of the month.
After the acting, the look is the most praised part. The period detail and the underworld setting are richly built, and the film has one clear style rather than a set of nice-looking shots.
Anirudh Ravichander’s music does a lot of the emotional work in a film that explains very little out loud.
Audience Reaction
3/5Film lovers rate it highly. General audiences are more split.
The film has done very well with people who came for Matheswaran and for the craft. The Lokesh casting also pulled in a lot of curious viewers in the opening days.
Reaction is cooler among people expecting a standard Sun Pictures mass entertainer. This is a slow, dark film wearing gangster-movie clothes, and not everyone bought a ticket for that.
What the critics said
Every score below is a real published rating. Follow the link to read the full review.
👍 Watch it if
- •Anyone who liked Arun Matheswaran’s earlier films
- •People curious whether Lokesh Kanagaraj can act. He can
- •Viewers who want a gangster film about falling apart, not rising up
- •Anyone who watches for the craft. This is the best-looking Tamil film of the month
👎 Skip it if
- •You want a fast, plot-driven thriller
- •Slow and dark is not how you like to spend three hours
- •You are expecting a normal mass entertainer
- •Stylish violence is a hard no for you
Cast & crew
- Director
- Arun Matheswaran
- Music
- Anirudh Ravichander
- Cast
- Lokesh Kanagaraj, Wamiqa Gabbi, Sanjana Krishnamoorthy
Published Aug 28, 2026 · Updated Aug 28, 2026. This is a consensus review: we aggregate and analyse published critic reviews and audience data rather than issuing a single reviewer's verdict.