Chakravyuh

U/A; Action

Director: Prakash Jha

Cast: Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol, Manoj Bajpayee, Anjali Patil, Esha Gupta, Om Puri

Rating:

Given his repertoire, one can safely expect Prakash Jha to come up with films that resonate with India’s ground realities. Having said that, it’s not mandatory he’ll always do justice to his chosen topic. His latest socio-political action-thriller catches that thread of distinction but keeps fluctuating as the minutes pass by. In other words, this endeavour could have been far better.

To begin with, Chakravyuh firmly deals with the overwhelming ‘problem’ called Naxalism—something no other mainstream Bollywood film has done lately. It bravely showcases that side of the country that’s not only neglected but also oppressed. Perhaps this approach gives the film an automatic edge over others in terms of novelty. But then, too much noise doesn’t always translate into gospel truth: unnecessary drama and below-par performances leaves you with so much more to desire.

Basically set in a village called Nandighat, the plot is a clear-cut battle between Naxals and Police. However, tribals’ interest is the unattended third party in the whole scheme and that’s what provides a closure to this story. In the thick of things, a rather impossible friendship between good cop Adil (Arjun Rampal) and a police academy dropout Kabir (Abhay Deol) gets tested as the latter decides to help the former crack the code by infiltrating into the enemy camp.

Abhay Deol and Anjali Patil in a scene from the film.