Dacoit: A Love Story

Dacoit: A Love Story (డకోయిట్: ఎ లవ్ స్టోరీ) is a 2026 romantic action drama shot in Telugu and Hindi, directed by Shaneil Deo in his debut and co-written with its star Adivi Sesh. Mrunal Thakur co-stars, with Anurag Kashyap, Prakash Raj, Sunil and Atul Kulkarni. Produced by Supriya Yarlagadda under Annapurna Studios, it opened on 10 April 2026, runs 152 minutes, and has streamed on Amazon Prime Video since 8 May 2026.

What the story is about

In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hari, a convict from Hindupuram, escapes from Kadapa Central Jail to take revenge on Saraswati, “Juliet”, the former girlfriend whose testimony sent him to prison. When he finds her desperate for money for a heart transplant at a hospital chain exploiting the pandemic, the two end up planning a robbery together, with a police officer and his daughter on their trail.

Cast and characters

• Adivi Sesh as K. Haridas, “Hari”
• Mrunal Thakur as Saraswati, “Juliet” (voiced in Telugu by Chinmayi)
• Anurag Kashyap as CI Rambabu, “Swamy”, in his first Telugu film
• Prakash Raj as Solomon Reddy, head of Karuna Hospitals
• Sunil as SI Prasad and Atul Kulkarni as Ishaaq Bhai, Hari’s former cellmate
• Zayn Marie Khan as SI Janaki, Kamakshi Bhaskarla as Malli, and Zarina Wahab as Saraswati’s mother

How it was made

Shaneil Deo, previously a cinematographer, and Adivi Sesh spent two years on the script, aiming for a “neo-Western” look in the vein of Sholay and The Magnificent Seven. Sesh pitched a role to Anurag Kashyap in December 2024, and Kashyap also helped write the Hindi dialogues. Shruti Haasan was first considered for the female lead before Mrunal Thakur took the role. The film was shot mainly in North India and the Rajasthan desert and wrapped in March 2026. Bheems Ceciroleo composed the music; the first single, “Rubaroo”, came out in February 2026.

Release, reviews and box office

Planned for 19 March 2026, the release moved to 10 April 2026 to avoid a clash with Dhurandhar 2. Reviews were mixed:

• Firstpost and The Indian Express gave it 3.5/5; Filmfare and DNA gave 3/5.
• The Hindu found the central characters layered enough to carry the film.
• India Today gave 2.5/5, The Times of India and Mid-Day 2/5, and Outlook India 1.5/5.

Wikipedia describes the film as having underperformed at the box office and, citing NDTV Profit, puts its gross at ₹55.23 crore.

Where to watch Dacoit: A Love Story

Amazon Prime Video holds the streaming rights. The film has streamed there since 8 May 2026 in Telugu, with Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada dubbed versions.

More Telugu films like this on Tollywood Desk: Court: State vs a Nobody, Racharikam, Jetlee.

Sources: the Wikipedia article on Dacoit: A Love Story and the reviews and reports it cites; our own cast, crew, release and OTT records.