Director Gadda Vijay's first Kannada movie Dyaavre starring Yograj Bhat, Sathish Ninasam, Shruti Hariharan, Sonu Gowda, Chethan, Rajesh and Arasu Maharaj in the leads, has garnered rave reviews from film critics, who lauded the debutante's unique screenplay and message-oriented story.
Set in the backdrop of a prison, the movie deals with the story of five individuals from different walks of life. The movie throws light on various social issues through these characters. According to critics, the film has brilliant performances by lead actors, arresting screenplay and rich production elements like melodious music and beautiful locations. However, its slow-paced narration in the second half has been pointed out as a drawback.
According to Chitraloka: "Dyavre is a complex web of smaller stories woven to a main plot. Each one talks about simple human emotions and simple needs of simple people. But in the larger scale of things, these are what make us human.
"The main plot is about the escape of prisoners and the two-pronged hunt for them. One is by the jailor, a good man who wants to save their lives. The other hunt is by a cop who has orders to kill each one of them.
"It is not a happy ending for all the runaways, but their real characters come out once they are out of prison. You begin to wonder, if prison really changes convicts for the better or makes them worse. The sub-plots are best enjoyed on screen without revealing everything about them. They are an integral part of the screenplay."
Sify: "The film which is set up in a backdrop of a prison, talks about the mass elements of the society like politics, police, naive people of the society and hunger. The entire plot revolves around the life of five main characters - a tribal man, a thief, an upcoming politician, a rural guy and an old man, who is allegedly in prison for 30 years."
Bangalore Mirror : "Only grandeur could have made such a story palatable. But this Sandalwood film is too ambitious for its own good. An engagement party of two dons is attended by all of eleven junior artistes. The film ends up looking like a childish indulgence despite the best efforts of the actors and the crew. The three love stories, including a gay romance weaken the narrative further. Giriraj's earlier film Jatta was a radical departure from most films. This is too, but in the opposite direction."
IndiaGlitz: "Another young buddy from Yogaraj Bhat and Soori camp - Gadda Vijay makes a solid effort in a mass appeal cinema. He could be easily called for his strength as 'Dyavre Vijay' from this film. The solid hard work inside the four walls for the screenplay and collection of anecdotes to suit the situations that are mind blowing and getting what he wants has happened for this debutant.
"In obtaining his needs from all divisions he has turned very convincing. The film could have been slashed by twenty minutes deleting one of the songs.
"God proposes for good life of the jail inmates via terrific rain that put the jailbird's life in jeopardy. It is the man who disposes such tamed prisoners via shoot out. The political gains count in this case.
"Gadda Vijay alias Dyavre Vijay holds a mirror to the happening in our society in his own style. He brings in politics, police, innocent people, hunger in the society, media etc on the screen. In his debut he has great support from cameraman Guruprashanth Rai and lyrical strength in the songs composed by Veera Samarth is another redeeming feature that adds to the film."