Danny review: an explicable murder mystery

Danny is a bit of a murder mystery where a patrol dog named ‘Danny’ has such keen senses that the cops could unravel any crime. Following the recent trend of OTT releases, the movie stars Varalaxmi Sarathkumar playing the lead and Vela Ramamoorthy, Vinoth Kishan, Kawin, Anitha Sampath and Durai Sudhakar in key roles. The movie was released on ZEE5 and is directed by LC Santhanamoorthy.

In Danny, a series of crimes are committed against women and all are in similar fashion. The patrol dog that is the title of the film is a key component as he has the powers to fish out any irregularities. With Varalaxmi the suave cop leading the investigation, can the duo figure out the pieces behind these recent spate of crimes? This forms the premise, and the director goes right in to the thick of thing without any preliminary setups.

The movie is all Varalaxmi Sarathkumar from start to finish. The dog has some inputs, but it is Varalaxmi who calls the shots each time. Her mood is fierce and you wouldn’t want to get in her way. The title of the film could have used a bit more justification.

The film is on the shorter side overall, and at 95 minutes, one actually feels more comfortable as it suits the online platform. However, the director introduces scenes at will. Continuity is gone for a toss as any inexplicable scenario is made explicable with the initiation of new characters. There are also instances of comedy which all fall flat.
Perhaps one would have been engaged for the first 40 minutes, but things fall apart quickly. All the events are predictable and you’d be scoring very little marks for guessing the finale. There are some pockets of hope in the performances with Anitha Sampath chiming in her best. The backgrounds by Sai Bhaskar and Santosh Dhayanidhi is hit or miss. Visually, the film is very pleasing on the eyes.
Danny’s screenplay needs an overhaul for it to have a chance at being an engaging watch. Nonetheless, if you’re starved for new content during this pandemic, give this a stream during a lazy evening, perhaps to watch Varalaxmi’s energetic performance.