Movie Review: Setters

Producer- Vikash Mani

Director- Ashwini Chaudhary

Star Cast- Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Vijay Raaz, Pawan Malhotra, Ishita Datta, Jameel Khan and Zeeshan Qadri

Genre- Thriller

Rating- ***

Slick & Intelligent!

Jyothi Venkatesh

The director sets out to look at an important issue of examination paper setters in Setters. It’s to do with the entrance exam mafia that fixes results—through leaked papers or proxy candidates—to get their clients a coveted job or a degree, in exchange of lakhs of rupees. It is akin to a thriller that runs along parallel tracks. with crooks in Varanasi, on the one hand, led by Bhaiyyaji (Pawan Malhotra) and his henchman Apurva (Shreyas Talpade), Apurva’s friend and superintendent of police Aditya (Aftab Shivdasani, who wants to wipe off his erstwhile friend’s illegal business.

The film hopes to recreate the palpable tension witnessed in films like Why Cheat India, Special 26 or Baby and to some extent Milan Talkies. Sadly enough, the risky and dubious exam leaking business has been glorified for lark and isn’t explored enough for it to deserve a buildup and chase of this proportion. The writing is jaded and also the proceedings fail to keep you on the edge of your seat.

The problem is that director Ashwini Chaudhary sets out to prioritize more on focusing on the cop Aftab and criminal Shreyas chase more than the deadly scams that occur in our educational system. The crime thriller has the backdrop of the paper leak but unfortunately it essentially deals with one-upmanship.

While Shreyas Talpade steals the show in the role of an antagonist; Aftab Shivdasani deserves kudos for carrying his role on his shoulders though he does not have much scope. Pawan Malhotra proves that he can be dependable for any role. Pankaj Jha is dependable while the girls Sonnalii Seygal and Ishita Dutta manage to pass the muster as they hardly have any role as such. Jameel Khan impresses. Vijay Raaz does not impress at all in an insipid role which he could have very well avoided.

In spite of its flaws, I would say that Setters is a slick and intelligent film, which makes you think, that I have seen after eons, though it may not be able to makes its presence felt at the box office because it lacks stars.

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