Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rasika Duggal, Zakir Hussain, Sanjay Mishra, Manish Chaudhari, Saurabh Dwivedi, Yudhvir Ahlawat Music by: Anu...
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rasika Duggal, Zakir Hussain, Sanjay Mishra, Manish
Chaudhari, Saurabh Dwivedi, Yudhvir Ahlawat
Music by: Anurag Saikia
Directed by: Pulkit
A super-rare instance where a film begins by thanking its own producer;
Yup, the latest Netflix film Kartavya opens with a grateful acknowledgement to
Shah Rukh Khan even as his Red Chillies logo pops up next...Why? How? What
Logic? Don't ask, it happens only in apna Bollywood!!
Saif Ali Khan plays an upright tough cop, suspended after he fails to protect a
senior journalist from assassination. The central plot revolves around a Godman
type villain (journalist turned award-anchor turned actor Saurabh Dwivedi),
whose ashram indulges in juvenile crime. More woe, Cop ji has to cope with an
elope wala episode back home and his father (Zakir Hussain) is in full-on
honour killing mode!!
Cramming multiple social issues in to a near two-hour movie, Kartavya doesn't
do justice to anything. After a promising start, the film loses its momentum,
trudging along at a leisurely pace with boredom creeping in by the second
hour...okie, there is that twist in the pre-climax but bet'ya can predict it
from a mile away!!
The performances are mostly competent. Zakir Hussain and Sanjay Mishra leaves
an impact as always. Rasika Dugal, Mirzapur's Beena Bhabhi, gets a chance to be
Saif's heroine and she impresses even in a small role. Yudhvir as the juvenile
Harpal, is an actor to watch out for. On the other hand, Saurabh Dwivedi as the
main villain, is a wrong casting decision. The guy needs to stick to his
popular podcast!!
Finally, it is Saif Ali Khan, who shoulders Kartavya completely on his own and
elevates the otherwise routine cop drama to a cut above the commonplace. Risk
it!!
- Reviewed by Sumeet Nadkarni (Editor & Film reviewer SN Ratings, Mumbai)
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