Naseeruddin Shah’s Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein Clocks 10 Years
Subhash K Jha revisits Naseeruddin Shah’s neo-noir thriller Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, released in 2015. The debut director Manish Shrivastava quietly brought out this noir comedy, which stands out for its sincere attempt to portray a flawed crime-heist story with conviction.
The film features a cast of talented actors who seamlessly immerse themselves in their roles. It is a dark and noisy film with clear signposts of its naturalistic ambitions and a nihilistic undertone running through it.
However, the film’s narrative cuts lack sharpness and grace. Compared to Bejoy Nambiar’s depiction of wayward youth in Shaitaan, which was executed with more confidence, Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein feels jerky despite its intentionally unpredictable twists and turns.
Each episode unfolds with vivid enthusiasm, yet films about ordinary people caught in the underworld have been portrayed more convincingly in Rajkumar Gupta’s Aamir and Nambiar’s Shaitaan. The real strength of Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein lies in its performances.
Naseeruddin Shah is wry and riveting even when treading on thin ice as far as the plot’s credulity-level is concerned.
Author’s summary: The film offers a dark, ambitious crime story redeemed by strong performances, though its narrative execution lacks the finesse seen in similar genre films.
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