Kutte REVIEW

Producer- Vishal Bharadwaj

Director- Aasmaan Bharadwaj

Star Cast- Naseeruddin Shah, Arjun Kapoor, Tabu, Konkana Sen, Radhika Madan, Shardul Bharadwaj and Kumud Mishra

Genre- Thriller

Platform of Release- Theatres

Rating- **1/2

Quirky Tale!

Jyothi Venkatesh

Konkona is a Naxalite who raises slogans about ‘azaadi’.  Veteran cop Kumud Mishra and his younger colleague Arjun Kapoor are among those who uphold the law and also break it at the same time. Naseer is a Dada in a wheelchair. And Radhika Madan and Shardul are young hopeful love birds. The film is about these seven kuttey who are adventurous.  

To put it in a nutshell, Kuttey is dark, twisty, fast-paced, with each choppy and half baked character trying to outwit the other in a dog eat dog world of its own. Frankly, to be very honest, Kuttey isn't exactly a deep, dark satire made to perfection but a wildly entertaining mishmash of guns, goons and gaalis about a bunch of corrupt cops hatch a plan to rob a van carrying crores of hard cash, meant to refill the ATMs across the city.

Divided across three quirkily titled chapters, Vishal Bharadwaj’s son debutant director Aasman Bharadwaj's ‘Kuttey’ starts off with a bang and keeps powering its screenplay with convoluting , chaotic, dark, sharp and self-centred characters, each of them trying all the time to outwit the other.

While Naseeruddin fails to show sparks in his limited role, it is Tabu who tops the list in the role of Pammi with her own eccentricities which in turn makes the character extremely likeable. Arjun Kapoor has more to do, as the unabashedly amoral Gopal and to be frank; the actor delivers a sincere as well as honest performance, working hard on his body language, gait as well as dialogue delivery

Konkana Sen Sharma is excellent in her small but impactful role as a Naxalite. Radhika Madan displays her prowess as the gutsy girl who elopes with her boyfriend, played by Shardul Bharadwaj. Anurag Kashyap is seen in a fleeting small role while Kumud Mishra shines in the role of a corrupt cop. As a debutant director, Aasman Bharadwaj proves his mettle by juggling an overstuffed plot and a bunch of talented actors, though the film bears the signature of his talented father Vishal Bharadwaj almost throughout as far as execution and style are concerned.

No wonder, because by virtue of who he is, Bhardwaj Jr has had access to not just his father who has been credited with additional screenplay and dialogue, and Gulzar, but also a jaw-dropping ensemble– Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kumud Mishra, Arjun Kapoor, Radhika Madan and Shardul Bhardwaj. It is not an easy genre, but to give him his due, I should concede that Aasmaan does an amazing job of sticking to a modified three-act structure but yet doesn’t let it ever feel like a structured mess.

To sum up, What lifts 'Kuttey's constantly dark and gritty narrative is the catchy tune of Vishal Bharadwaj’s iconic composition 'Dhan Te Nan' from Kaminey that lingers in the background.