Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury
Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Parvathy, Paresh Pahuja and Sanjana Sanghi
Where: Streaming on ZEE5
Rating: 2 stars
It becomes apparent when a filmmaker maintains the traditional approach to storytelling in a narrative, but sometimes, it can be bothersome to observe excessive similarities between a couple of films. In his previous work, LOST, director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury explored a mystery intertwined with political drama in the background. Similarly, in Kadak Singh, multiple subplots run concurrently, creating a complex narrative.
Kadak Singh, also known as A K Srivastava (Pankaj Tripathi), grapples with amnesia, making it challenging for him to recognize his own identity, even as his daughter Sakshi (Sanjana Sanghi) recounts his entire past life to him.
Dr. Kanan (Parvathy) and Arjun (Paresh Pahuja), Kadak's nurse and colleague, assist him in resurrecting a troubling past that unfolds into a psychologically intense murder story.
As a filmmaker, Aniruddha consistently aims to captivate audiences by interweaving characters. However, his primary challenges lie in executing the narrative and effectively resolving the conflicts within the film. This trend was evident in his recent work, LOST (2022), where the movie initially unfolds as an investigative drama but ultimately transforms into a political thriller, with a foundation rooted in media reporting and connections to Naxal activities.
Aniruddha appears quite at ease filming his movies in Kolkata, particularly with a local cast and crew. The initial half moves at a sluggish pace, primarily portraying a somber drama confined to a hospital room. Despite the potential in his characters, the slow pacing dampens the overall mood.
While Pankaj is undoubtedly a fantastic actor and manages to elevate the film in certain scenes, his approach to injecting humor becomes somewhat repetitive. Sanjana, portraying the disgruntled daughter, delivers a performance that is decent. She appears to have improved since her role in Dhak Dhak, possibly due to having more substance in her character. Paresh's performance is commendable. Unfortunately, Parvathy, an exceptionally talented actress, is underutilized in the role of a disciplined nurse who patiently awaits dialogue opportunities that never materialize.
The background music takes us back to the golden era of Nirupa Roy films from the 70s and 80s, a time when women were often depicted as insubstantial characters.
Kadak Singh doesn't live up to its title's promise of being 'kadak' (strong). While Pink may have been a stroke of luck and LOST an attempt, this one doesn't measure up to either of them.
