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Ek Chatur Naar review: Divya Khossla, Neil Nitin Mukesh's revenge drama isn’t as chatur, still watchable in parts
Ek Chatur Naar review: Divya Khossla puts in an earnest shift in a role brimming with potential, though her execution wavers between impactful and overdone.
Revenge dramas are usually testosterone-fuelled, male-hero-driven actioners mounted on a grand scale with bigger budgets. Umesh Shukla's Ek Chatur Naar flips that template by placing a female protagonist at the centre, making the tone lighter. The setup is meaty from the word go. The ride, however, could have been smoother instead of bumpy.
The premise
The story follows Mamta Mishra (Divya Khossla), a street-smart woman struggling to make ends meet while supporting her young son and mother-in-law (Chhaya Kadam). One day, she manages to steal the mobile phone of businessman Abhishek Verma (Neil Nitin Mukesh), who is hand in glove with a corrupt politician (Zakir Hussain). Unlocking the phone, she stumbles upon intimate videos and sensitive data, which she uses to extort money from Abhishek. Whether she succeeds or whether there is more than meets the eye forms the rest of the film.
Ek Chatur Naar begins on a gripping note, with veterans like Yashpal Sharma and Sushant Singh anchoring the drama. There is an easy breeziness to the first hour, with the screenplay (Jay Master, Deepak Nirman, Siddharth Goel and Umesh Shukla) keeping the momentum ticking. But once the second half kicks in, the endless cat-and-mouse chase between Abhishek and Mamta begins to wear thin. The film wants to be clever, but it never feels quite as smart as it thinks it is, leaving behind more loopholes than it should.
The climax does pack intrigue, though it overstays its welcome.
Final thoughts
In the performance department, Divya Khossla puts in an earnest shift in a role brimming with potential, though her execution wavers between impactful and overdone. Chhaya Kadam is sadly underutilised, reduced to little more than reaction shots. Yashpal and Sushant lend weight to the story with reliable turns, while Neil Nitin Mukesh as the antagonist never truly convinces. The writing does not give him a menacing enough edge, and the face-off with Mamta lacks fire.
Overall, Ek Chatur Naar wants to be the clever fox of revenge dramas, but it too often ends up chasing its own tail. Entertaining in parts but uneven in execution, it leaves you wishing the smarts had matched the setup.
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