There was a time when cop dramas in Bollywood meant the hero’s slow entry, ear-splittingly loud dialogues and single-handedly blowing away ten goons without breaking a sweat. But Saif Ali Khan’s new Netflix film ‘Kartavaya’, directed by director Pulkit, tries to break this worn-out commercial formula. Pulkit, who has made a serious film like ‘Bhakshak’, this time chooses reality instead of pretension. They present the police officer as a tired common man rather than a ‘larger-than-life’ superhero. The film is noble in sentiment and touches on many sensitive issues like duty, morality, corruption and family pressure. But can the film handle the burden of its huge ambition? Let us know in the detailed review.
What is the story of ‘Kartavaya’?
The story of the film revolves around SHO Pawan Malik (Saif Ali Khan), whose personal and professional life is currently going through a critical phase. At the police station, he is assigned to investigate the murder of a high-profile journalist, which slowly begins to uncover the many white-collar faces and uncomfortable truths hidden within the system.
On the other hand, Pawan’s house is no less than a battlefield. His relationship with his conservative father is strained, and his rebellious younger brother adds fuel to the fire. During this mental turmoil, Pawan finds relief and tender support only from his wife (Rasika Duggal), who reads his silence without saying anything. As the investigation into the murder mystery progresses, Pawan’s suspicion deepens on the criminals as well as the people in his department. There is also the entry of a ‘godman’ (religious leader) in the story, where an attempt is made to show the ideological conflict between faith and superstition.
Acting: Saif Ali Khan’s elegant and restrained appearance
Saif Ali Khan is undoubtedly the strongest backbone of this entire film. He has lived the character of Pawan Malik with great poise, without any fuss. There is a strange mental weariness in his eyes throughout the film, which makes his character extremely believable. His greenish accent sounds a bit high pitched at places, but his sentiments are completely genuine.
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Rasika Duggal’s screen time may be less, but whenever she comes on screen, she brings warmth and comfort to the heavy atmosphere of the film with her ease. As always, Sanjay Mishra impresses in his sophisticated and intuitive style. Apart from them, Yudhveer Ahlawat, Zakir Hussain, Manish Chaudhary and Durgesh Kumar have also done full justice to their characters.
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The weakest link in casting
The casting of Saurabh Dwivedi as the main villain of ‘Godman’ (Baba) turns out to be completely wrong. In a character who should be out of fear and sudden danger, his expressionless face and boring dialogue delivery make everything pointless. Due to the constant smile on his face, he appears to be a normal person rather than a villain, who completely fails to scare the audience.
Technical side
Technically the film is quite coordinated. Its cinematography perfectly captures the realism of police stations, streets and small town houses without any provocation. The background music of the film is quite impressive in the emotional moments, although the editing of the second half of the film could have been a bit tighter as some scenes are dragged on for longer than necessary.
Duties: Technical aspects
Talking about the technical aspects of the film, it looks quite coordinated and excellent. Its cinematography manages to maintain the necessary atmosphere without being too flashy; Which makes it easy to feel the reality of the small town setting, police station, houses and other places shown in the film.
When a movie involves deep emotions, background music is especially pleasant to listen to. On the other hand, the editing has room for improvement, as the second half of the film gets unnecessarily long at some places.
Duty: Decision
‘Kartavaya’ is one of those films which has a noble idea, but falls a little short in projecting its ideas perfectly on screen. The film wants to explore the emotional cost of being a police officer, and in several scenes it actually succeeds in doing so. Instead of glorifying its protagonist, the film portrays him as a common man and that is its greatest strength. Also the film suffers from the fact that it tries to cover too many topics at once.
Corruption, family drama, spirituality, investigation, betrayal and emotional trauma—all these themes compete for the audience’s attention, leaving many of the film’s stories unfinished. Overall Kartav is a realistic, emotional and truthful film, but it also feels disappointingly incomplete. So, while ‘Kartavaya’ has a lot to appreciate, it still deserves only 2.5 out of 5 stars.