Dorothy Review: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Dorothy is a moving Tamil film that mixes love, friendship, and hard truths about society. Strong performances, beautiful camera work, and Ilaiyaraaja’s music lift it, though a few stretches in the second half drag.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Platform: Netflix
Genre: Romantic Drama
Director: Karthik Subbaraj
Cast: Rishikanth, Sananth, Keerthy Suresh
Language: Tamil
Runtime: 145 minutes
Calling Dorothy a love story is true, but it isn’t the whole truth. The film is simple at its heart, yet it keeps reminding you how much humans like to complicate things. Karthik Subbaraj, known for his fun commercial films, takes a quieter, more personal path here, and the result is one of his most affecting works.
The film came out in theatres a month ago and became a talking point online. Now that it is on Netflix, a much bigger audience can see it.
The story follows two friends, Subbu and Karthi, played by Sananth and Rishikanth. They grow up in a village where caste pride matters more than anything else. Subbu comes from an upper-caste family and carries a lot of pain from his childhood.
He loses his mother and sister young, and he sees his father as a harsh moneylender who values honour above his own children. Karthi, on the other hand, is sensitive and open. As the years pass, their personalities slowly swap.
Things change when Subbu’s brother marries a woman from Kerala named Dorothy, played by Keerthy Suresh. She quickly becomes Subbu’s favourite person in the family. But Subbu is hiding something he has never said out loud, and as time goes on, that secret comes out. It drives much of the second half and tests the limits of the friendship between the two men.
The film rests on Sananth and Rishikanth, and both give strong performances. Their friendship feels natural, which makes you root for them. Sananth especially shines in the second half. Rishikanth shows a lot of range, moving from serious scenes to humour and even dancing, and he looks like a hero in the making.
Keerthy Suresh is mysterious and holds her own even with limited screen time. The actors playing Subbu’s father and brothers are solid too. The reviewer also points out the casting of transgender actors, who add real weight to the story.
This isn’t the kind of film you expect from Karthik Subbaraj, but it works. Every action and moment connects to the characters, and the story builds well, with key tensions shown early and unfolding slowly. The first half sets up the village and its rigid rules clearly.
The film includes violence, but it hits differently from many recent movies. By the time it happens, you already care about the characters and know things the others don’t, so it feels painful instead of shocking.
S. Tirru’s camera work is beautiful, with frames that capture the tension and contrast in the story. Ilaiyaraaja’s music brings the 1980s and 1990s to life and adds a lot of feeling.
The one real weakness is the pace. A few stretches in the second half feel longer than they need to be. It is a small complaint, though, and it doesn’t take away from the film’s strength.
Dorothy can be a hard journey, but it is a rewarding one. The film shows how little some parts of society have changed, while telling a love story that leaves your heart full despite its sad moments. It is a film you need to see.
If you are building your watchlist, our 418 review asks if the horror film the censor board found too scary is really that terrifying. For romance, read our Tum Mere Ho review, and for a streaming crime thriller, check our Gajab Raat review.