Chitrangada - Movie Review

Chitrangada' movie has been released today. Let's find to know whether it's worth watching or can be given a miss…

What's the Story?

Chitrangada (Anjali once again does a female-centric film) is an assistant professor who strongly believes that there are no spirits out there. However, she is not aware that her hostelmates fear her for behaving violently and awkwardly during nights. In her subconscious state, she has strong sexual feelings for girls.

Her woes are multiplied because a particular dream disturbs her again and again. She wants to know who is the one being killed by a woman in her dream and what that murdered man is trying to convey to her.

Her search takes her to America, where the murder took place 25 years ago. Samyuktha (Sakshi Gulati), a cop, offers her moral support. In a matter of days, Chitra and Samyukta bond strongly with each other. In the second half, Chitra manages to know more about the mystery. Her single-minded investigation, however, eventually uncovers her own past. Who is the murdered man? How is she related to Chitra? Why did the unseen woman murder him? Answers to these questions come in the last 20 or so minutes.  

What Works!

Ashok G of 'Pilla Jamindar' fame has penned the screenplay and dialogues himself. He has penned a fairly good story.If you remove the compulsively artificial cinematic elements, 'Chitrangada' works at a level. Anjali's mannerisms and behaviour come to make certain sense after the audience learn about her flashback.  

What Doesn't Work!

Although the story material has potential, the narration suffers from two problems: lack of clarity, and lack of faithfulness to the genre.  

In the first 30-40 minutes, the oh-so-many threads thwart the flow. Probably, the director should have learnt from films like 'Manam' and '24' the art of narrating a complex story in a seamless manner. Where is the need to show Jayaprakash, a professional psychologist, as a scheming baddie with an ulterior motive? Whatever happens to Chitra's troublesome sexuality after she gets busy with knowing about her dream? 

While Samyuktha revers Chitra so much, why is the latter not seen reciprocating it in an effective way? While there is rationale for Samyuktha's love story, what is the point in showing a friend as suspecting a lesbian relationship?

The tedious screenplay is aggravated by awful technical output. The songs and the cinematography are second-rate. The element of the main character making a bakra out of a comedian (Saptagiri in this case) is nothing new. Thanks for the little mercies shown by Saptagiri, who manages to draw a few laughs with his quirky language. Sudigali Sudheer, the ill-mannered cop's character and the like don't add value.  

Performance Score

Since this is an Anjali film all the way, better care should have been taken in presenting her look and designing her expressions. She is inconsistent in her appearance. Like almost all actors (with the exception of Sakshi and Sindhu Tulani, who is better), she frequently goes over-the-top. Jayaprakash and others don't make a mark.  

Final Verdict

'Chitrangada' may have a fairly interesting story line, but the narration and visuals have spoiled the show. Screenplay is totally disappointing. Heroine Anjali showing off lesbian tendencies in the beginning of the story is bold but the movie's narration goes completely off the mark.