U Turn review: A gripping, fast-paced thriller
Kannada filmmaker Pawan Kumar’s U Turn that released in April this year is a gripping suspense-horror film that tells the story of a young reporter, played by Shraddha Srinath, trying to find her ground as a journalist who wants to write a story about people breaking traffic rules.
Kannada filmmaker Pawan Kumar’s U Turn that released in April this year is a gripping suspense-horror film that tells the story of a young reporter, played by Shraddha Srinath, trying to find her ground as a journalist who wants to write a story about people breaking traffic rules.
It is being screened at the ongoing International Film Festival of India.
Based in Bengaluru, she collects information on people who move a few blocks of concrete from a divider on the only double road flyover in the city to take a U-turn midway and save a few minutes. These motorists, however, leave the blocks lying in the middle of the road leading to several accidents.
The movie soon brings an element of bizarre and shows people who took the U-turn die on the same day and each case is registered as suicide in police records. Her first investigation into the problem leads her into a life-threatening situation. The movie then chases the reporter’s struggles to find out the truth even as she strives to stay alive.
The story sounds weird at the onset but the way Kumar has narrated it makes it rather real. It is a fast-paced thriller that jolts your journey with the most unexpected twists and shocks through the narrative. There is a supernatural element to the story and Kumar gives the hints right from the first frame as to how things will pan out.
From philosophical comment on people not caring about others because of their busy, chaotic lives to a murderer coming to a point where the real target is revealed but faces a dilemma whether he/she can be killed - U Turn is a collage of leitmotifs and symbolism. At the same time, it is a film that you can enjoy for its pure entertainment and thrill.
Newcomer actors Shraddha Srinath and Roger Narayan fit their characters with perfect ease.
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The author tweets @SwetaKaushal
