Release Date : September 02, 2022
123telugu.com Rating : 2.25/5
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Rakul Preet Singh, and others
Producers : Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani, Deepshika Deshmukh
Direction By : Ranjit M Tewari
Music Director : Dr. Zeus Tanishk Bagchi
Cinematographer : Rajeev Ravi
Editor : Chandan Arora
Bollywood star actor Akshay Kumar has now come up with a crime thriller Cuttputlli which got released directly on Disney Plus Hotstar. This is the official remake of the Tamil blockbuster Ratsasan. Let’s see how it is.
Story:
Arjan Sethi (Akshay Kumar) is an aspiring filmmaker who fails to achieve his dream. With no choice left, he joins the police force as SI in Kasauli on the advice of his brother-in-law and sister. During the same time, teenage girls get abducted and killed brutally sending shock waves across the hill station. Arjan Sethi and his police team take up the case. Who is this killer? What is his exact motive? Did Arjan and his team nab the killer? This forms part of the rest of the movie.
Plus Points:
Akshay Kumar as the investigating cop is very good in his role and carries the film on his shoulders. His sincere act as Arjan Sethi is far better compared to his recent outings. He excelled in the fighting and chasing sequences and displayed emotions very beautifully wherever required.
The first half of the film is decent. The backdrop of the film is changed to a hill station in this remake to give the film a fresh feel. Makers have succeeded in this aspect. There are a few scenes that are dealt very well in the film. Others like Sarhun Mehta and Chandrachur Singh were okay in their respective roles.
Minus Points:
Seems like the makers want to complete the film very quickly and that is how the second half looks. There is a lot of detailing that has gone into the characterization of the psychopath in the original which is completely missing here. The flashback episode showcasing the killer’s character is the crux of this story but that was rushed for no reason making the audience bewildered. If the killer’s motive is not depicted clearly there is no point in making the remake.
On top of that, here the killer himself narrates his back story to Akshay showing the clueless nature of the movie team. A good number of scenes from Ratsasan were eliminated for no reason in this film which makes it soul-less. The tense factor while the girls get kidnapped is not presented well.
In the original Amala Paul’s character is not just restricted to a song or for some eye-candy moments. The female lead has a good role which is important to the plot. Here Rakul is absolutely wasted in a small role. While there is some serious chain of events going on, a romantic song comes out of nowhere disturbing the flow.
Technical Aspects:
BGM by Tanishk Bagchi is pretty much below-par which doesn’t add a tense factor to the proceedings. It makes things flat and has let down the film big time. To note, the original version had some haunting and spine-chilling BGM which made the viewers connect to it instantly. The editing is way too crisp which again lets down the movie. The production values are pretty good and the cinematographer Rajeev Ravi has captured the beautiful locations of Himachal Pradesh.
Coming to director Ranjith M Tewari he has wasted a plot that has solid stuff. In order to make the film crisper, he and his team missed out on significant portions making the film a bad one. The essence of Ratsasan was not at all captured. There are no issues with changes in a remake until and unless they add more meaning to the existing plot. That’s not the case here.
Verdict:
On the whole, Cuttputtli is a bad remake of Ratasasan which is considered to be one of the best-ever thrillers. Akshay Kumar’s honest performance and some good scenes couldn’t save this film. Rushed portions, bad execution, and chunking out important sequences from the original make it a lifeless thriller. If you are a fan of Ratasasan (Rakshashudu in Telugu) you will be disappointed to the core. You can skip this film.
123telugu.com Rating: 2.25/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team