Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale

Several loopholes in the story, screenplay and plot both lacks the punch. Poor filmmaking.

Good actors, some dialogues are good, but some are childish. There was potential in the story, but the director failed to use it.

Acotrs pulled the movie a bit but couldn't portray the thrill because the weak screenplay couldn't let them.

It saddens me to say that as a Bangali, I have never seen a classic thriller on the OTT platform that can engage or keep the viewers, forget grabbing the arm of the chair but at least have their brows frown for a minute! When crime thrillers like Pataal Lok, Delhi Crimes, etc keep piling up, the Bangla Industry could not even produce ONE!

This film industry is certainly blessed to have films like Sonar Kella, Joy Baba Felunath, and Kuheli & since then, the same industry has come to believe garbage over content & performance! Has the Bangla Film Industry started collecting scripts from the trash of those who are making masterpieces mentioned as references, above?

3 Stars from me: 1 for Tota, 1 for Anirban and the 3rd for the lady who played the character of a differently abled girl. The rest (in major roles) were as good as the movie itself, which is ZERO, especially that Marwari boy, whose character was as important as the actor playing it!

Could have been better had they dropped the plan of making this piece of paper!

This film depicts a cat-and-mouse game between a cop and a serial killer on loose. While most of Indian murder mystery thrillers encircles on whodunit or howdunit, but this movie delves on whydunit genre which is in a way quite gripping.

The direction by #PratimDGupta is impeccable. He is not 'one of the', but the most underdog or underrated directors of Kolkata or Bengali Cinema, who has been silently and most consistently making wellcrafted films seasonally. With a perfect profile of work, his narrative style is non-linear mostly, but his story and screenplay with dialogues are well-written and engaging throughout.

Cinematography is of high order.

Editing is razor-sharp and crispiest to the core. The cuts are seamless and smartly executed and juxtaposed.

Music and the background score is respectively foot tapping and haunting as per the screenplay.

As per the performances are concerned, the actors have excelled in their individual parts with distinction marks. Even the supporting actors looked tailor-made.

Their Production house has made a superb and smart film.

Elderly people may give it a pass but urban audience must watch it to see a different side of Smarter and Literate Tollywood. Kudos to the whole team. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

A wide cast of characters and some great actors in this movie with a police story at heart starts off well but too many plot twists and story arcs make it end with a whimper.

The actors are great and several of them have featured in similar story angles over the last few years but the biggest issue seems to be that Bengali movies have taken up the serial killer angle of movies very well and the only industry comparable in India would be the Malayalam industry which has had decades of success in author and story backed movies.

Here that very history tends to expose movies early like in this case with a superb opening and a storyline that should have taken the movie home is waylaid by a a second story of history which scars the case. The cops are written well as are the support characters, Maheshwari shines as the rookie who needs to prove himself, Tota Roy a perfect foil of a senior cop riddled with second guessing his past decisions that have overwhelmed his personal life including with his wife, Anirban has a solid performance as a single parent to a child who is a wheelchair user and in the autism spectrum (an excellent performance by Tanika Basu as Putul), very different from his Aken roles and Indrajit the fourth policeman who is torn with his love for a lady of the night.

Everyone of them gets a fair share of screen time and improve the plot points.

Overall the movie is thrilling but fails to hit the high notes it promises.

While the narrative may have a couple of shortcomings, the film is always one step ahead of you. The sharp editing and the crisp runtime further accentuate the depiction of police procedures and the execution of the crimes. Though it veers away from typical buddy-cop tropes, a limited series format might have allowed the story more room to breathe and develop.

The film does well in exploring the personal crises of its lead characters, weaving their emotional struggles seamlessly into the narrative. These moments of dramatic turmoil enhance, rather than detract from, the story. However, one subplot feels underdeveloped, contributing little to the overall plot. The interpersonal dynamics between the police officers are a highlight. Their differing priorities shape their approaches to the case, and the restrained use of banter ensures the focus remains on the events rather than the characters. Unlike many Bengali crime thrillers, the balance between character development and plot progression is handled adeptly here. That is where Chaalchitro scores, reaching a new height in Bengali cinema.