Chakravyuh | Mess As Expected | The Critique

While Arjun was far, Abhimanyu entered the Chakravyuh setup by Kauravas. In the end he dies while Arjun goes on with the fight. This is an easy way to summarize the story. Though it can be denied, Chakravyuh is definitely inspired from Drohkal. A cop plants his man as a bug in Naxal group. This is what happens in Drohkal and this is how story begins in Chakravyuh. Rajneeti failed the viewers. Aarakshan was a celebral tragedy. Chakravyuh is a blunder. At least by Jha's standard.

 

The biggest problem with the story is the characterization. Characters and sometimes scenes are straight lift from different movies with similar backdrop. Spicing it up with too much grey characters doesn't help the cause. At some point you believe that one side is right and at a later point you support the other. As you go about with story, you end up in the middle. As aloof as you were before entering the theatre. To screw it up more, there is no conclusion. It might have helped a thriller but not a social drama.

 

Manoj Bajpayee, Om Puri and Abhay Deol were wasted. Arjun Rampal is still growing and is definitely better than the rest from his batch. Esha Gupta had less to do and she managed to screw it as well. Applause. Anjali Patil is NSD grad. That shows up. She is the highlight of the movie. The angst in her eyes is real.

 

Story is weak. Dialogues rarely leave an impact. More than often you end up sympathizing with yourself than the characters. Cinematography is just okay. Music lacks the local touch. Direction is really weak. Development of scenes look so clichéd. Prakash Jha needs a rejig. Nothing else will work. He is a great director but unfortunately he is losing his grip.

 

Written By: Sujoy Ghosh