Review : Chatrapathi (Hindi) – High on action, low on emotions

Riding high on the success of his Hindi dubbed films on YouTube, Sreenivas Bellamkonda has now made his Bollywood debut with the remake of the Telugu blockbuster Chatrapathi. The Hindi remake is also titled Chatrapathi and is helmed by Tollywood’s sensational director VV Vinayak. Nushrratt Bharuccha has played the female lead. The movie has hit the screens today, and let’s see how it is.

Story:

Shiva (Sreenivas Bellamkonda) lives in Pakistan with his mother (Bhagya Sree) and brother Ashok (Karan Singh Chhabra). Ashok hates Shiva, as the latter is not his biological brother. One day, Shiva gets separated from his mother due to Ashok during an exodus from Pakistan. Shiva lands in Gujarat as a refugee and is forced to do criminal activities. He transforms into an aggressive guy a few years later. Also, Shiva’s quest for his mother never ends. At one point, one of the boys in the refugee camp gets attacked, which makes Shiva revolt. He becomes the savior of the oppressed, and soon, people start referring to him as Chatrapathi. Did Shiva meet his mother finally? What challenges did Ashok cause Shiva? This forms the rest of the story.

Plus Points:

Sreenivas Bellamkonda is too good in the role of Chatrapathi. The actor has put his heart and soul into the Hindi remake, which is sure to please the mass audiences. Compared to his previous movies, Sreenivas has improved a lot in terms of dialogue delivery. His action scenes are stunning, and Sreenivas shows the dancer in him once again. All in all, Sreenivas makes a promising debut in Hindi cinema.

The second half of the movie is slightly better compared to the first half. Karan Singh Chhabra, who reprised Shafi’s role, is stunning. The actor’s body language and mannerisms are spot on. His scenes with Sreenivas made the second half watchable.

A lengthy action sequence which comes in the second half, where Sreenivas and Nusshratt get attacked, is conceived superbly. The dialogues and elevations are designed in a way to amuse the mass audiences, and the makers succeed partially.

Minus Points:

While the focus was heavy on the action sequences, the emotional quotient took a beating. The characters were established hastily, leaving no space for the audience to connect to them. Be it the mother’s emotion, hero’s camaraderie with his fellow mate, or the struggle undergone by the refugees, everything looks so artificial in the movie. Bhagya Sree did well, but the writing made her character look weak.

Even if we consider the massive action blocks in Rajamouli’s Chatrapathi, there is a beautiful underlying emotion behind every fight scene. The way these emotional moments lead to the fight sequences give an adrenaline rush. Sadly, Chatrapathi’s Hindi version is filled with mass sequences that don’t have any emotional connection.

The songs are way too many in number, and their placement is absolutely awful. The makers tried to keep the film as short as possible compared to the original version. While doing so, the main aspects have been left away, making it a soul-less one. There is no complaint regarding the removal of comedy tracks, but some beautifully crafted scenes in Chatrapathi were omitted here in this remake. Sharad Kelkar is wasted in his role, which doesn’t have any importance.

Technical Aspects:

Tanishk Bagchi’s songs are not at all impressive, and Ravi Basrur’s background score is loud, which doesn’t add any value to the film. Nizar Shafi’s cinematography looks neat, and some action sequences have been captured quite brilliantly. In an attempt to make the movie fast-paced, many scenes have been ended abruptly by the editor. The production values are solid nevertheless.

Coming to the director, VV Vinayak, he did just an okay job with the film. More than his direction, it is the screenplay penned by Mahadev that has to be blamed. It isn’t wrong to make changes for a remake, but it needs to be ensured that the essence of the original isn’t lost. A few choices made by the team had an adverse effect on the film.

Verdict:

On the whole, Chatrapathi is a film that is high on action and low on emotions. Sreenivas leads from the front and gives a solid performance. Karan Singh Chhabra is yet another asset, but the film doesn’t have a balance of mass and emotional elements. Hardcore action lovers can enjoy a few action set pieces, but the movie might not please all sections of the audience.

123telugu.com Rating: 2.5/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team

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