“DNA” Review – An Ambitious Thriller That Struggles to Find Its Core
In DNA, director Nelson Venkatesan packs in a range of emotionally rich and thematically ambitious ideas: A man broken by life finds unexpected hope in a marriage to a mentally challenged woman. A new mother’s suspicions about her baby’s identity are dismissed as delusions stemming from her mental state. A father grapples with the existential guilt of marriage and parenthood. Another struggles with the strange reality that it takes time for infants to develop recognizable facial features, leaving him unsure of his own child’s identity.
Each of these concepts holds tremendous promise. The film seems poised to blend them into a taut investigative thriller — and with a cast led by Atharvaa and Nimisha Sajayan, there’s reason to believe it could work. But DNA doesn’t quite manage to weave these threads into a cohesive whole. Instead, what we get is a series of isolated story fragments that never fully come together, despite their emotional potential.
We’re introduced to Anand (Atharvaa, who delivers a committed performance), a man adrift in life, drowning in alcohol and regret. At first, it appears he’s simply heartbroken, but we soon learn his sorrow stems from a tragedy involving his ex-lover. The film chooses not to villainize her, but the way her story is introduced and then abruptly dropped feels like an opportunity lost — a gesture at depth without the follow-through.
Enter Dhivya (Nimisha Sajayan), a mentally challenged woman whose worldview is untouched by societal expectations or stigma. The film seems to aim for a critique of how mental health is stigmatized, particularly in Tamil cinema where the term “loosu” is often used derogatorily. But the portrayal of Dhivya is riddled with inconsistencies. Is she intellectually disabled? Does she have Borderline Personality Disorder? The film never clarifies, and instead uses her “condition” more as a narrative tool than a character trait to explore with empathy or accuracy.
Dhivya’s sensitivity and obsessive attention to detail are mentioned, but we’re given little access to her internal world. We’re not shown what draws her to Anand, or how much she truly comprehends the implications of marriage, intimacy, or motherhood. Her decision to marry Anand, and their sudden intimacy on their wedding night — preceded only by a joke — feels unearned and perplexing. Despite her claim of innocence regarding nuptial customs, her reactions don’t reflect the confusion or surprise that one might expect. As a result, Dhivya remains an enigma, not because she’s complex, but because the script doesn’t invest in explaining her.
This lack of emotional grounding affects the film’s core relationships. Dhivya and Anand — two people with vastly different lives and experiences — are thrust into marriage with no real bridge between them. There’s no meaningful dialogue or shared understanding developed, not even during moments that typically lend themselves to emotional breakthroughs.
The film’s pacing compounds these issues. Eager to pivot into its thriller elements, DNA rushes through key character-building scenes. After a year passes via montage, Dhivya gives birth. Immediately after seeing her newborn, he’s taken to the incubator — and when returned, Dhivya insists the baby isn’t hers. Her husband and mother dismiss her, and the doctor suspects postpartum psychosis due to her mental health history.
This could have set up a powerful psychological mystery, probing the blurry lines between mental illness and maternal instinct. But the film undercuts its own suspense by revealing the truth in a scene prior to this twist. What could have been a story about trust, doubt, and perception becomes a procedural about how events unfolded, not whether they did.
As the investigation unfolds, the writing continues to rely on convenient plot turns and hurried storytelling. Clues fall into place too neatly, from the aftermath of a road accident to the deductions made by officer Chinnasamy (Balaji Sakthivel) and Anand. The detective aspect lacks the complexity and nuance expected of a gripping mystery.
Nelson Venkatesan’s previous outing, Farhana, was a nuanced and affecting thriller that struck a balance between its social themes and storytelling. In contrast, DNA feels like the work of a filmmaker unsure of his footing. Despite noble intentions — exploring mental health, societal stigma, and the vulnerabilities of parenthood — the film fumbles in execution. It opens with a barroom ballad and closes with an inexplicable item number, both of which feel tonally misplaced and creatively outdated.
For all its ambition, DNA never quite evolves into the genre-defying, emotionally resonant thriller it sets out to be. The ideas are compelling, the performances sincere, but the narrative lacks cohesion, depth, and the patience required to let its characters — and its themes — truly breathe.