'Chehre' review: Execution fails potential of the story
What's the story
After releasing in cinema halls across India on August 27, Rumy Jafry's crime-thriller Chehre is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Starring Emraan Hashmi, Amitabh Bachchan, Annu Kapoor, Krystle D'Souza, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Raghubir Yadav, Rhea Chakraborty, and Siddhanth Kapoor, the Anand Pandit production strives to present a taut courtroom drama outside an actual courtroom but the end product isn't that taut.
Here's our review.
Summary
Ad-agency executive takes shelter at veteran judge's house during snowstorm
As seen in the trailer, Hashmi is an ad-agency executive who has to take shelter at Chatterjee's house in the hills due to a snowstorm.
Chatterjee used to be a judge, while his friends, Bachchan and Kapoor are a retired prosecutor and defense counsel, respectively.
Hashmi is informed by the group of veterans that they enact mock trials to keep themselves entertained sometimes.
Conviction
Hashmi agrees to play mock trial with the group
Hashmi's character, who is overtly obnoxious from the start, agrees to play the game with them.
Soon, he realizes the game is not a child's play but pretty serious.
But one of the first rules of the game is that one cannot bow out.
So, Hashmi feels trapped, a fate the audience has realized long before, and there the problem lies with filmmaking.
Development
Execution of story is slow, stretched, and exhausting
From the very beginning, be it Big B's opening track, the eerie background score, or Yadav's ominous expressions, viewers understand Hashmi's fate has been sealed.
So, there is no sharp twist or shock for us to enjoy.
Hence, the power of narration rests on how we reach the court's result in Hashmi's case (mock or not).
But this road is bumpy, slow, and exhausting.
Verdict
Acting performances are good but things become animated at times
Although almost all characters are one-dimensional, all lead actors give good performances.
But the script demands them to be melodramatic, animated at times which is irritating.
Bachchan's ending monologue on the inefficiency of judiciary using real-life cases would have hit us harder if it was better written and a bit concise.
It's not bad for a one-time watch though.
Verdict: Chehre gets 3/5.