#ChorNikalKeBhaga review: Gripping tale of revenge-fueled double-crossing and mid-air heist
Ajay Singh's heist revenge drama Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga landed on Netflix on Friday. Fronted by Yami Gautam Dhar and Sunny Kaushal, the fast-paced thriller also stars Sharad Kelkar in a relatively brief but pivotal role. Replete with surprises, twists, turns, and bombshell revelations, the drama, despite the minor flaws that peek from the corners, is well worth your time. Dive into the review.
But first, grasp an idea of the plot
CNKB revolves around a flight attendant Neha (Gautam Dhar) and her charming yet conniving boyfriend Ankit (Kaushal), who is buried under a hefty debt. To rescue themselves from multiple violent creditors once and for all, the duo decides to execute a robbery of diamonds mid-air. However, the twist in the tale occurs when the plane is hijacked and the couple is thrown off balance.
The seeds of suspense are sown early on in 'CNKB'
Each time characters in a thriller proclaim that they have a "perfect" plan, it's a giveaway that things are bound to hit a rocky road soon. This is exactly what happens here. A clock ticks on the screen, indicating that the stakes are high. The instructions are clear: the film wants you to feel the suspense even before the plot swings into motion.
The intelligent writing is complemented well by the performances
CNKB is a rare drama where writing is as much a star of the story as the performers. While the screenplay fumbles in the beginning, it keeps its eyes on the eventual goal. You go from hating a character to liking them and then hating them again within seconds, and with its fast-paced, clear-cut, no-minutes-wasted approach toward storytelling, the film consistently keeps you guessing.
The thriller has a fair amount of urgency
Since the majority of the action transpires on a flight, it lends CNKB a fair amount of urgency. A major twist occurs after an hour, which is something you would expect before the end credits and not mid-way. One revelation leads to the other, and the jigsaw puzzle becomes more convoluted with each passing minute. Clearly, the film has many surprises up its sleeve.
The characters' motivations will leave you guessing
Kaushal and Gautam Dhar carry CNKB on their shoulders, especially Kaushal, whose conspicuous absence for a few minutes in the second half immediately makes you wonder about his whereabouts! The well-etched-out characters have a lot going on clandestinely, far more than what they lead on. This device of double-crossing and secrets-within-secrets works well, aided by the crisp runtime and the appropriate amount of curveballs.
Shortcoming: Is there anything that could have been better?
My biggest complaint? Kelkar's finite role. His voice—which has a career of its own—starts CNKB, and though his character's length is justified by the plot, his confident screen presence calls for more meat. There is also a good Muslim-bad Muslim trope in place, found aplenty in nationalist films. However, at this point, it feels more like tokenism and less like a poignant, moving statement.
The concluding five minutes seemed too convenient, less imaginative
The ending left me a little high and dry, and it felt like there was space for at least one more twist there, but somehow, it didn't come. Going by the chronology of events and the plot, it may not seem incomplete per se, but there's something about it that screams that one final surprise should have greeted us in the last five minutes.
We recommend watching the film this weekend
CNKB does not take its audience for granted and despite utilizing some tried-and-tested Bollywood tropes, still makes for an engaging affair for the most part. It relies on surefooted performances, a riveting screenplay, and is mostly two steps ahead of the viewer—as thrillers must be. It's a story of a hunter getting hunted, of a swindler getting swindled. Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga gets 3/5.
