Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
Chitrakut movie review: A tale of bleeding passion and breathing love.
What: Chitrakut - actor turned director Himanshu Malik (of Tum Bin fame) navigates the myriad complexities intrinsic to the most basic and beautiful feeling in the world - Love.
Chitrakut movie synopsis
Chitrakut, the place that has its roots in Ramayana, has a metaphorical connection with the film's plot. Termed as the place where Lord Rama and Sita spent a lot of time together after being banished from Ayodhya, this is considered as a hallmark destination that harbours pure love. And in today’s times, it is a sought-after place for couples for their honeymoon.
Himanshu’s plot unfolds lazily and meanders around two disparate couples, excavating the complications in their lives while the four pivotal characters introspect about their journey of being together. Debu (Vibhore Mayank, debutant) is a young boy who works as a junior chef and dates Alisha (Naina Trivedi), a fashion designer who is still harbouring feelings for her Ex.
Then there is the other couple – Shaan (Kiran Srinivas, debutant), an impulsive and hot headed guy with a tormentous past, who works as a horse race inspector and Saloni (Auritra Ghosh) a dancer. Shaan is contemplating a breakup with his lover as he feels that it brings emotional turmoil and ultimately destroys the sanity of life.
It is known that their lives will get intertwined, but Himanshu executes his story in the most unconventional and unpredictable way and steers clear of the commercial tropes.
The conversations between the characters are very natural and all the actors perform without a hint of affectation. They are intense, thought-provoking, and intellectually stimulating. Sample this, “Vengeance in a person evaporates every other emotion in their body”. It is not everyone’s cup of coffee but the discerning viewer will like it along with the impressive cinematography and judicious production design (by Vijay Kadali).
In one scene, Saloni dancing in slo-mo to channelize her inner turmoil. Auritra Ghosh has choreographed her own steps and it beautifully portrays the emotions in raw form. There is no fabrication here. Chitrakut is moody and gets tedious at some points. The editing could have been more prudent.
I go with 3 stars out of 5 for Chitrakut – The film has its share of flaws, but at the same time, its hatke, aesthetically made, visually appealing and a courageous endeavour by the filmmaker to break away from the conventions.
The 2 Hour 12-minute film is streaming on Jio Cinema.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee