'Chakra', starring Vishal in the lead, hit the screens today (February 19). Here is our review of the latest BO release.
Story:
The movie begins with multiple robberies happening in Hyderabad on Independence Day, and one incident happens at army officer Chandru's (Vishal) house as well. As Chandru and Gayathri (Shraddha Srinath) start investigating the case, they find out some major breakthroughs. As the duo further investigates, they find that the culprit is a technology-powered smart individual who is planning to carry out another set of robberies.
A cat and mouse chase ensues. Who's the robber, what's the motive of the robber and whether Chandru and Gayathri are able to nab the criminal is the crux of the story.
Analysis:
Although 'Chakra' has nothing to do with 'Abhimanyudu', it follows a template laid by the latter. The themes of data theft, privacy breach and businessmen flouting privacy rules lie littered throughout. There is an online aggregator by the name of Dial For Help, whose callousness becomes the strength of the villain.
"Welcome to the digital world," a character says, making it clear that the film is in the mould of a cyber-crime thriller. The hero analyzes the voice of the villain in a control room as highly-experienced police offers display their cluelessness every other scene.
The film's mind games are limited to ultra-familiar tropes - like the police deparment holding a presser to say some deliberate things in order to hoodwink the antagonist. There comes a point when the villain stops being a step ahead. And the funride ends here.
Shraddha Kapoor's cop character stages a fake encounter in no time. But she is that gutsy and talented only in the absence of the hero. Whenever Vishal's character is around, she surrenders to his intelligence. The cops do things that the villain wants them to. The female top cop messes up with two suspects and the film drags itself down endlessly from here.
It's not like the hero is consistently sensible. He knows where the villain is but doesn't drag her to the prison because he wants evidence. Nobody told the writers of this film that a suspect is taken into custody so the prosecution can collect evidence through interrogation and investigation in the real world.
The hero pieces together scattered clues out of nowhere. The people around him say exactly the things he needs them to say (like a constable saying that nabbing bike lifters averts a host of other crimes!).
The film is more obsessed with taking potshots at Digital India and getting sarcastic about Indians ('Nobody buys the Tricolour on August 15 after 4 pm') than about the case at hand.
Vishal's performance is enjoyable. Regina Cassandra gets to play a challenging role. She has got so much untapped potential and it is refreshing to see her in a 'hatke' role. Shraddha Srinath fits the bill. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music doesn't go into uplifting any of the scenes.
Verdict:
'Chakra' is a somewhat convoluted film with loopholes aplenty. It's hardly a taut thriller.
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