Predictable Chakravyuh hits bull’s eye

The director makes a film on the controversial Naxalite movement in India.

KARACHI:

Prakash Jha’s Chakravuyh is a fast-paced film which neatly avoids most clichés. In one of the early scenes, the director shows a bureaucrat addressing a press conference along with the head of police (Mukesh Tiwari) and a leading businessman (Kabir Bedi).

They are discussing the expansion of developmental projects in Nandighat, an area where the Naxalites — Maoist anti-state radicals — are fighting for their occupation rights and pride. The ensuing scenes in the film portray how the Naxalites anger is fuelled further by an unconcerned government, land-grabbing corporations and their biggest enemy: an unjust police force.

“We will make a university at par with international standards,” says the suited businessman. “What if the Naxalites react?” asks a curious journalist. “We’ll take care of that,” responds the police official.

While the businessmen and government officials are planning money-minting projects, Rajan (Manoj Bajpai), the leader of the Naxalites, is informing his followers about the government’s plan to use the poor villagers and their low-cost labour to acquire land and natural resources. Rajan warns them that the state intends to capture their land and exploit them, while stripping them oftheir natural resources.

Jha attempts to be politically correct when he shows that the Naxalite movement against the state is being lead by weapons and a set of rules that allows them to murder state officials, regardless of how corrupt they are. Despite the director’s diplomatic approach to this overtly controversial subject, Chakravuyh hits the bull’s eye with remarkable precision. It depicts raw issues without exaggeration — a feature that made his earlier box office hits Raajneeti and Aarakshan deviate from their central theme. Overall, he does justice to both viewpoints by showing a good cop like Adil doing his best to serve the country versus his friend Kabir, who is moved by the solidarity and honour code of the Naxalites.

The story of Chakravyuh is about two friends coming to terms with their relationship. Superintendent Police Adil Khan (Arjun Rampal) accepts the offer of his college friend Kabir (Abhay Deol) to operate as a mole within the Naxalites in order to help Adil in his operation against them. The deal works well as Adil makes significant progress in his operation. But predictable, while Kabir is relaying information to his friend from the Naxalite camp, he begins to empathise with their cause; the injustice suffered by them moves him, and he slowly and surely embraces honesty in the “Laal Salam” slogan of the Naxalites. What follows is a well-crafted story that may not offer much in terms of surprises, but has an impactful climax.

Deol proves himself as yet another asset for Bollywood as his subtle transformation from Kabir to Azad is more believable than both the cinematography of the bomb blasts in the film and Rampal’s stiff portrayal of an angry young man. There are moments when you will realise that even the extras are doing a better job than Rampal, who really just seems to be struggling to lend character and depth to SP Adil Khan. The star of the movie, however, is Anjali Patil, who plays the Naxalite leader Juhi. In this film, Anjali has proved herself as a strong and convincing actor — one to be counted amongst names such as talented actor Konkona Sen Sharma. Om Puri appears in the film for a short period and plays one of the many Om Puri characters we have seen previously.

While brotherhood and friendship are the most central themes in the film — be it the chemistry of Adil and Kabir or the Naxalite brethren at large — the director sticks to what the film was made for: highlighting the class differences that have emerged as a result of a hyper capitalist Indian State. India is counted amongst the BRIC nations today, but only 25 Indian families earn most of what they have, leading to the line “Aam aadmi ki jaib ho gayi hai safa chat” (the common man’s pocket has been wiped clean) from the film’s thought-provoking song “Mehengai”.

Verdict: Watch it for Anjali’s fantastic performance, or if you’re a sucker for Arjun Rampal’s looks (not acting)

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2012.

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