'Kuttey' review: Guns, grime, gore galore in this caper heist-thriller
Aasmaan Bhardwaj's directorial debut Kuttey was released on Friday. Co-written by him and his father-filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, the caper thriller stars an ensemble comprising Arjun Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Naseeruddin Shah, Tabu, Radhika Madan, Kumud Mishra, and Shardul Bhardwaj. Kapoor receives the maximum screen time and the film holds well due to its taut narrative, pulsating background score, and compelling performances. Here's our review.
With non-linear narrative at its core, story intertwines all characters
Kuttey follows a non-linear structure, with each character having its own backstory. The story is laced with serpentine twists, with each character being the piece of a larger puzzle that eventually connects to a cash-filled van. Kapoor, Mishra, Tabu play cops, while Madan plays a crime lord's (Shah) daughter. Shardul essays her lover, with Sen Sharma breathing life into the character of a Naxalite.
Film is designed like a thriller novel, divided into chapters
The first aspect that draws you toward Kuttey is how it is designed like an unputdownable thriller novel, with a prologue, epilogue, and three brief chapters in between. Shot majorly in the dark with torrential downpours lashing the characters, it lends the movie a much-needed neo-noir air, and resultantly, scenes are staged in a way that it's difficult to take eyes off them.
Cinematography lends the film a somber, dark effect
Kuttey's meticulous cinematography is another integral constituent of a film heavily dominated by literal and metaphorical darkness. For instance, red skies, black silhouettes, and a tense atmosphere describe Naxalites guerrilla warfare scenes, giving them the exact tinge of horror they demand. Another conspicuous aspect is how Dhan Te Nan tune courses through the movie like its binding thread, providing Kuttey with a much-required facelift.
Characters are saved from creaking under suffocation of cliches
Aasmaan has molded his characters in a way that their idiosyncrasies stand out; for example, Kapoor's Gopal is a Lord Hanuman-fearing bhakt and dedicated family man who sings lullabies on phone for his daughter ahead of a death deal. Bullets hit characters and twists hit viewers out of nowhere—Kuttey is a film confident of itself, solidly aware of the path it wishes to take.
At some points, the film feels like a broken record
Despite all its wildly entertaining fun and wicked humor, Kuttey isn't marked safe from flaws. The intermission arrives too quickly, and by the time it does, it feels like the plot has hardly moved, with the characters having only moved a few inches from where we first met them. During such times, it begins to feel like a muddled mess of characters and themes.
These dogs don't just bark, they bite, too!
Actors' biggest challenge in a multistarrer is to carve their own space, and here, everyone gets the memo! Arjun Kapoor leads this ferocious pack with confidence, and others—despite the length or gravitas of their roles—rises above the script in places where it seems like it will simply give way. I would call Kuttey a congregation of powerhouse performers; Tabu, Mishra, Shah, Sen Sharma—who's complaining?
Not perfect, but this madcap entertainer is worth your time
Come for the ensemble cast, stay for the last twist that will leave you in splits. Kuttey is a wild ride from start to finish, and with so much happening on screen, ensure that you don't take your eyes off the characters, or else, the story may suddenly become too convoluted. A zany caper thriller well worth your time, we rate it 3/5.
