Chakravyuh

Excellent power packed movie with realistic theme after a long time. As is always expected of Prakash Jha, this one also won't disappoint you.

It brings out the best performances from all the actors and touches a very sensitive issue in a neutral way, leaving the people to judge about naxalite reality.

An unbiased version of the naxalite infested India from the government and naxalite/tribal perspective without tilting on either side and bringing tears to the eyes of sensitive people, which is in itself a victory for the movie.

I wish that more and more people become aware and sensitive about this subject which has affected 220 districts of India and this movie does its bit on the subject judiciously.

Needless to mention all the actors did their best, however novice Anjali Patil steals the show. The cinematography and screenplay was good too, feels like we're sitting in a naxalite infested jungle.

In India, Naxalite movement started as a revolt against the system-generated injustices heaped on the tribals in Naxalbari (West Bengal) four and a half decades back and then spread in various parts of our country. Still known by the same name and carrying the same slogan - Laal Salaam, this movement which is violent to the hilt has given birth to a few Bollywood movies. Prakash Jha's Chakravyuh (the lethal trap difficult to break)is in the same league.

Putting it straight, the story of Chakravyuh is not original. It's a lift from the classic movie of Hrishikesh Mukherjee - Namak Haraam (1973) starring two biggest superstars of Hindi cinema - Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan in lead roles. In Namak Haraam, one friend (Rajesh Khanna) infiltrates the workers by posing as one of them for the purpose of helping his industrialist friend (Amitabh Bachchan) and in due course of time, starts sympathizing with them. Here the same story has been given the backdrop of Naxalite movement with Arjun Raampaal being the cop and a part of the system (akin to Amitabh Bachchan in Namak Haraam) and Abhay Deol being his helping friend infiltrating the Naxalites and ultimately switching over to their side (akin to Rajesh Khanna in Namak Haraam). The outcome turns out to be what it had to be - one of these two friends has to die and naturally, it is the one who joins the outlaws.

Since the story is not original, I won't give any credit to the script-writers. However Prakash Jha has directed it very well. After a long long time (since Apharan), I have seen him in full form, presenting an utterly realistic account of the things but in a gripping way without allowing even a second of boredom to the spectator. The complete movie is an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Right from the very beginning to the very end, it keeps the audience engrossed. Just like the stories once written by Salim-Jaaved during the seventies and the early eighties, the story has been presented in such a way that the viewer does not get any chance to think (while the movie is in progress) and keeps on looking at the screen holding his breath. He can think, analyze and assess only during the interval and after the ending.

Prakash Jha has picturized everything in a highly realistic manner with taking minimum number of cinematic liberties. Except the basic story idea, the movie appears nowhere as an imaginary story. The human aspect of the various people involved (on both the sides) and the different facets of the issue have been dealt with finesse and most of the scenes leave their mark on the heart of the viewer. Quite contrary to Red Alert, he has not come out with any solution to the problem but tried to see the things from a much closer point and succeeded. Nobody is correct at every point of time and from every angle of this multi-faceted complex phenomena. From one angle, one is correct and from some other angle, the other is correct. The need of the hour is to have a holistic view of the phenomena and then a proper strategy is to be formulated to break this vicious trap or Chakravyuh. And Prakash Jha has established this fact with the level of proficiency we always expect from him. While referring to the real life incidents, he has adapted the story of Namak Haraam for this movie and presented a taut thriller. A couple of scenes involving Kabir Bedi and his son are the only ones which appeared as somewhat over the top to me, nothing else.

The movie scores very high on the technical front. All the action and thrill sequences are damn impressive. The art director and the cinematographer have worked in harmony and enlivened the milieu of the story on the screen. The editor has also done his job well. Background score is perfect. Music is in line with the mood of the movie. It's not memorable but fits the bill.

Prakash Jha has extracted outstanding performances from his lead as well as supporting characters. Since Arjun Raampaal and Abhay Deol are the two holding pillars of the story (in fact the two opposite poles of a continuum), they were expected to come out with exemplary performances and they have done it. Both deserve a big hand from the audience. All others including Manoj Bajpayee, Anjali Patil, Om Puri, Chetan Pandit, Murali Sharma, Vinay Apte, Kabir Bedi etc. have also done pretty well. Esha Gupta did not get much scope but she does not disappoint.

I consider this movie as a brilliant effort from one of the most realistic and respected directors of India, Prakash Jha who has though not suggested any solution and left it to the audience to think of a practically feasible solution to this ticklish problem continuing for decades in our country, nevertheless presented the complete status of the things in a highly impressive and thought-provoking manner. I hope, the governments of various affected states will watch this movie carefully and pick up some points to deal with the issue in an effective as well as humanistic way. This CHAKRAVYUH is to be broken and Abhimanyu who is the innocent ones, is to be saved. As Prakash Jha has shown that the real problem is the vested interests which are ever ready to swallow everything that is nice, just and desirable; the people who are desirous of curing this canker have to first sideline them from the decision-making processes.

And hats off to Prakash Jha with the whole Chakravyuh team.

Prakash Jha's 'Chakravyuh' is A Well-Acted & Well-Made Motion-Picture! Based on the issues of Naxalites in Modern-India, this under-rated political-thriller offers thrills & well-paced entertainment in a running time over a 150-minutes.

'Chakravyuh' Synopsis: On the request of his friend Kabir, SP Adil Sends him to the Naxal group as an informer. When Kabir finds the truth he becomes one of their gang leader.

'Chakravyuh' begins & ends well. Any hiccups? The second-hour dips considerably. It does gain momentum in the final 15-minutes, but the portions otherwise of the latter hour are bland. Anjum Rajabali & Sagar Pandya's Writing is strong at most parts, but lacks much conflict & meat in the second-hour. Prakash Jha is a pro at handling political-thrillers with ease & over-here, he delivers a worthy performance as a story-teller. Cinematography, Editing & Music are fair. Action-Sequences are extremely raw.

Performance-Wise: Arjun Rampal is impeccable. The National-Award-Winning Actor sinks his teeth into the part & lives the character with utmost honesty. Abhay Deol is nicely controlled. Manoj Bajpai is, as always, flawless. Bajpai only gets better! Om Puri is significant. Esha Gupta is decent. Anjali Patil is fabulous. Chetan Pandit is in terrific form. Mukesh Tiwari & Murli Sharma are natural to the core. Kabir Bedi is suave in a cameo.

On the whole, 'Chakravyuh' delivers entertainment & a strong message efficiently.

Prakash Jha once again picks up the right topic enough to generate excitement in masses but disappoints again (to a lesser extent than Aarakshan and Rajneeti). In terms of plot, the film does highlight one of the greatest challenges, the Indian democracy is facing but gives a half-hearted treatment with superficial explanation on the reason behind Naxalist movements. There were many technical mistakes in story set up. The greatest being recruitment of Abhay Deol in the Naxal group without any strong reason. Extremist groups just don't recruit anybody because the person does not have anything else to do. And while a small time actor gets executed within seconds, Abhay Deol gets all the time in the world to explain himself in "Janta Ki Adaalat" and eventually pardoned for the same crime committed. In terms of acting, Abhay Deol, Om Puri and Manoj Vajpayee lives up to their reputation. Anjali Patil is the discovery of the movie and definitely stands up in the league of stalwarts, at least for this movie. However, Arjun Rampal spoils the party in every scene, making audience feel the need of Ajay Devgan or at least Emraan Hashmi for the role. All in all, the movie is good enough to be watched for someone who wants to get an idea of what the Naxal movement is about. However, the movie fails to send the message it intends to.

Chakravyuh - 6/10

Chakravyuh is a good attempt by Prakash Jha to give us something like a Gangaajal and Apharan but what he forgets is that this is far more touchy topic for a majority of Indians than topics discussed in Gangaajal and Apharan. A topic such as kidnapping rackets can be accompanied by masala songs and a great looking police woman, but when you discuss topics such as Naxal Movement, Communist Ideology and show your protagonist (Abhay Deol) reading Marxian literature, I'm sorry but you need to be a lot less commercial.

In summary, Chakravyuh is a masala movie (as Arjun Rampal agrees in an interview too). It has item songs, a hot policewoman and random jokes. It is an 'entertainer' - for that I might give it 7/10 - but as far as the real message is concerned - to show what Naxal movement is all about and what is the state of our tribes and also the nexus between government, police and the corporate's - I am sorry but it is a disappointment.

Please watch it for it's entertainment, I wasted my time watching it alone as I was expecting this to be showcasing something that is close to my heart, unfortunately it does not.