Chanakya - Movie Review

Saturday, October 5, 2019 - 14:45
Chanakya (2019)
Cast & Crew: 

Film: Chanakya
Cast: Gopichand, Mehreen, Zareen Khan, Nasser, Sunil, Ali, Raja, Rajesh Khattar, Upen Patel and others.
Dialogue: Abburi Ravi
Music: Vishal Chandrasekhar, Sricharan Pakala
Cinematography: Vetri Palanisamy 
Art: Ramana Vanka 
Producer: Rama Brahmam Sunkara 
Banner: AK Entertainments 
Story, Screenplay, and Direction: Thiru 
Release Date:  Oct 5, 2019
CBFC Rating: UA

What’s it about?

Arjun (Gopichand), a RAW officer, lands in trouble when his cover is blown in a mission. His fellow officers are kidnapped by mafia don Mehmood Qureshi (Rajesh Khattar). They are taken to Karachi in Pakistan. Indian Government skirts off his RAW identity as it doesn’t want to take chances with G8 Summit around the corner. But Arjun vows to bring his friends to India in 10 days and heads to Karachi. A RAW informer Zubeda (Zareen Khan) is there to help him in Pakistan. How would he succeed in this mission?

Analysis

Gopichand’s ‘Chanakya’ doesn’t require much analysis. After watching a romantic track shot on Gopichand and Mehreen that appears in the first half-hour itself, we conclude that the film has gone to the dogs literally. The film begins with a heroic action episode of Arjun (Gopichand) and his fellow officers nabbing a terrorist. This episode is shot interestingly and sets the right tone. But soon, the film forgets about the spy elements and moves on to focus on the romantic track between Gopichand, a bank employee and a client (Mehreen). Gopichand is working as a bank employee to cover his RAW identity.

The nearly 45-minutes lengthy romantic track that involves the sequence of Mehreen approaching Gopichand seeking his female puppy for the mating of her male pet dog. The conversation between them about this ‘mating’ totally makes you cringe. By the end of the first half, I felt of leaving the theater. Fortunately, director Thiru has come to his senses to focus on the real spying drama post-interval. The second half is all about the ‘Operation Chanakya’ – a RAW agent rescuing his four officers from Pakistan. Though it does provide some tense moments and some interesting sequences, even the second half is predictable to the core.

All the actors including male lead Gopichand have done routinely. There is no appreciative performance from any actor. Other than the cinematography (which is first-rate), no technician has put in the best effort either. Director Thiru’s story and narration are too weak.

Bottom-line: Gopichand's ‘Chanakya’ is a boring spy thriller. ​

Rating: 
2/5