Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s ‘Kadak Singh’ Movie Review
Rating: 2.5/5
National award-winning filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s latest Hindi offering, “Kadak Singh,” has made its premiere directly on the OTT platform ZEE5. Dive into our review to uncover the essence of the movie.
Story:
AK Srivastava (Pankaj Tripathi), an upright officer in the Financial Crimes Department (DFC) in Kolkata, grapples with amnesia during his investigation into a chit-fund scam. Piecing together his fragmented memories, he learns about his predicament from his daughter Sakshi (Sanjana Sanghi), girlfriend Naina (Jaya Ahsan), subordinate Arjun (Paresh Pahuja), and Chief Tyagi (Dilip Shankar). The film unfolds the mystery of whether AK recovers his memory, solves the case, and uncovers the reason behind being dubbed Kadak Singh. To unveil the enigma, watch the film.
Positives:
– Crafted by Viraf Sarkari, Ritesh Shah, and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, the story unfolds with intrigue, brought to life adeptly by director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury in the first half.
– Pankaj Tripathi delivers a satisfying performance, infusing serious scenes with witty punches that bring smiles to viewers’ faces.
– Sanjana Sanghi shines with a convincing performance, adding significant emotional weight. Jaya Ahsan makes an impressive Bollywood debut.
– Dilip Shankar and Paresh Pahuja perform satisfactorily in their respective roles.
Negatives:
– Despite the promising premise of an amnesia patient solving a case through gathered stories, the director falters in execution, primarily due to screenplay issues.
– The second half, particularly the climax, loses narrative control, failing to generate curiosity and instead inducing boredom. Attempts to infuse intensity through the screenplay fall flat.
– Casting choices, especially Parvathy Thiruvothu’s role unrelated to the story, leave lead actor Pankaj Tripathi underutilized.
– The background music during tense scenes feels inappropriate and contributes to viewer detachment, with the surprising use of the Sitar even in intense moments.
Technical Aspects:
– Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury struggles to make a lasting impression with both his writing and direction, with a well-narrated first half but a faltering second.
– The music falls short of expectations, failing to captivate at various junctures. While the cinematography is satisfactory, dynamic editing could have enhanced the latter half.
Overall:
In summary, “Kadak Singh” proves to be a lackluster thriller. While Pankaj Tripathi and Sanjana Sanghi offer commendable performances, pacing issues, particularly in the second hour, lead to moments of boredom. Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s direction and the subpar score stand out as additional drawbacks. Consider exploring alternative entertainment options this weekend.