Cuttputlli

Cuttputlli is the official remake of the Tamil film, Ratsasan (2018). The story is intriguing and has all the trappings of a thriller. Aseem Arrora and Tushar Trivedi's screenplay is gripping for most part. The writers have peppered the script with some fine thrilling and even light-hearted moments. Aseem Arrora's dialogues are conversational and have several humorous scenes.

It is the story of a cop trying to catch a serial killer. Arjan Sethi (Akshay Kumar), has passionately researched about serial killers and he wants to make a film on this topic. He approaches several Punjabi filmmakers in Chandigarh. However, all of them decline his idea and instead, advise him to make a comedy. He then goes to Kasuali to meet his sister Seema (Hrishitaa Bhatt), brother-in-law Narinder Singh (Chandrachur Singh) and niece Payal (Renaye Tejani) on Raksha Bandhan. Narinder is a cop and he insists that Arjan should give up his filmmaking dreams and join the police force.

Later on he becomes a Sub-Inspector and joins a police station where the SHO is Gudiya Parmar (Sargun Mehta). A few days later, the cops get the information that a schoolgirl named Amrita Rana (Saina Anarose) has gone missing. She was presumably abducted from outside her house. The killer leaves behind a gift box which has the mutilated head of a doll. Arjan realizes that the way the doll's head is mutilated is very similar to how the face of a girl named Samiksha Bharti was mutilated. This girl was found murdered in Parwanoo and Arjan had gathered information about her out of habit. He tells SHO Parmar that the Parwanoo schoolgirl killer has kidnapped Amrita. Parmar dismisses his theory.

Ranjit M Tewari's direction is fair, at least till the pre-climax. He manages to captivate the audience with his execution. The manner in which Arjan tries to get close to the killer and the investigation process make for a great watch. A few scenes stand out like Divya's entry, SHO Parmar admonishing Arjan, and Arjan nabbing Purshottam Tomar. The scene where Payal goes missing is chilling and the same goes for the scene where Arjan opens the trunk of his car. The sequence where Arjan, Parmar, and others follow Ayesha Khan (Divvya Wadhwa) to catch the killer red-handed is quite nail-biting. Sadly, from here on, the film falls.

The revelation of the killer doesn't come as a surprise, unlike in the original film. Also, in the original film, the backstory of the murder was established and the cat-and-mouth chase between the cop and the villain went on for sometime, which added to the fear factor. Here, the finale is very hurried. The way the killer's flashback is executed is very childish. The other major problem is that in many scenes, the United Kingdom has been passed on as Himachal Pradesh, and it doesn't work. Thanks to the different topography and architecture of the buildings, one can easily make out the difference.

Speaking of performances, Akshay Kumar tries its best and plays his part quite well. He shines in a few scenes like the scene where he has an outburst and where he catches the Maths teacher red-handed. Rakul Preet Singh looks stunning and is fine. Sadly, her character doesn't have much to do. Sargun Mehta puts up a confident act. Chandrachur Singh leaves a mark but disappears after a point. The same goes for Hrishitaa Bhatt. Renaye Tejani, Seher Bhowmik (Iti; Divya's niece) and Divvya Wadhwa are fair. Sujith Shanker plays the part with aplomb. Joshua Leclair (Christopher), Suhani Dhanki (RJ Roshni), Saina Anarose and Laaibah Ali are passable.

There is only one song in the film, "Saathiya", and it's forgettable. Julius Packiam's background score is very bad. Rajeev Ravi's cinematography is breathtaking and captures the locales of the UK and Himachal Pradesh beautifully. Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty's production design is rich. Rushi Sharma and Manoshi Nath's costumes are appealing, especially the ones worn by Rakul. Parvez Shaikh's action is realistic. Famulus Media and Entertainment, Number9 VFX, Aisolve and Redefine's VFX is appropriate. Chandan Arora's editing is too quick in the last act.

Overall, Cuttputlli is a decent watch except the final act, all thanks to Akshay Kumar and his performance.