Vishal’s Chakra ran into some legal troubles just ahead of its release and the Madras High court imposed a stay on the film’s release. Luckily for the makers, the issue was sorted out yesterday and the film hit the silver screens today. Let us see what the film has to offer.
Story: Chandru(Vishal) quits the Indian army as he intends to trace the culprit behind the theft of his father’s Ashoka Chakra medal. Incidentally, 50 other similar robbery cases are reported in the city and Chandru joins hands with police officer, Gayatri (Shraddha Srinath) who is investigating these cases, in a bid to catch those involved. Can Chandru and Gayatri figure out the mystery behind these robbery cases? If yes, will they be able catch the culprits? Watch the film to know the answers.
What about on-screen performances?
Vishal is in familiar territory as he plays a powerful role. His portrayal of a strong-natured army officer is very natural. He excels in action sequences and confrontational episodes. Shraddha Srinath is okay as a cop. Regina Cassandra makes a surprise appearance and she is impressive.
What about off-screen talents
Chakra was promoted as a thriller almost entirely based on cyber crime but it is more of a hero-villain story and cyber crime is a very small part of it. The director MS Anandan focuses mainly on the confrontational episodes between the protagonist and antagonist. However, many scenes lack impact as they are a bit too distorted. There are quite a few logical errors in the plot.
KT Balasubramaniam’s cinematography carries the action thriller vibe a through the film. Yuvan Shankar Raja who is a pro when it comes to background score is back at it again. The soundtrack he scored for the hero-villain rivalry scenes is uplifting. Action sequences were shot very well and they gel with the narrative.
What’s Hot?:
- Vishal and Regina’s excellent performances
- Crime investigation scenes
- Interval episode
- Flashback and pre-climax portions
- BGM and visuals
What’s Not?
- Much-hyped cybercrime angle is subdued
- Lacks emotional connect
- Routine cop-villain rivalry
- Weak climax
- Underwhelming thriller scenes
Verdict:
Despite not living up to the promise of being a cyber crime thriller, Chakra has its bright moments here and there. But it loses steam in crucial junctures which damage the overall experience. Vishal has been doing quite a few films which fall under thriller genre and Chakra will go down as one of his mediocre outings.
Watch or Not?: Only for those have immense liking towards commercial cop thrillers.
Telugubulletin.com Rating: 2.5/5
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Chakra is an upcoming action thriller film written and directed by MS Anandan in his directorial debut. The film stars Vishal, Shraddha Srinath and Regina Cassandra. The film is based on cybercrimes and e-commerce scams.
Second-half report: Regina’s mother sentiment and the reason behind her bad intentions are shown well. Regina destroys proofs against her and throws a challenge to Vishal to prove her crime. The second half is completely between Regina and Vishal, which shows some challenges and twists between them. Some scenes are quite interesting and intriguing. Not much boring scenes are included in the second half. Watch this space for a full movie review.
12.40 P.M: In the end, Regina gives a strong warning to Vishal, giving scope for a sequel.
12.30 P.M: Finally, after some twists and turns, Vishal catches Regina with proofs.
12.25 P.M: Challenging scenes like fights between Vishal and Regina are a treat to watch.
12.10 P.M: Vishal and Regina play a Chess game, and this scene is quite interesting
12.05 P.M: Regina throws an open challenge to Vishal to prove her part in the robbery
12.00 P.M: Vishal gets his hands on two brothers of Regina, who helps her in the robberies. The investigation is still going on.
11.40 A.M: The flashback scenes of Regina Cassandra are good, and the mother sentiment from her childhood came out very well.
11.30 A.M: Second half opens with Leela (Regina Cassandra) introduction and her flashback scenes
First-half report: The first half of the film feels short of time. It ends with suspense on how to catch the hacker. As of now, there are no high moments in Chakra, except revealing that hacker is a girl, and she is Regina Cassandra.
11.15 A.M: The film is set against the hacking backdrop. Vishal and Shraddha manages to find that the hacker is none other than Regina Cassandra. And now it’s time for an interval
11.00 A.M: During the robbery, Vishal found that Ashoka Chakra Medal, which was granted to his father, is stolen.
10.45 A.M: Vishal (Chandru) and Shraddha (Gayatri) starts investigating the robbery case.
10.35 A.M: Vishal is introduced as a Military officer while Shraddha Srinath is playing a Police officer role.
10.20 A.M: The movie opens with 50 robberies done on the same day, which happens to be on August 15. One of the robberies is registered at Vishal’s house too.
10.15 A.M: Vishal’s action thriller ‘Chakra’ started with 131mins runtime and U/ A certified film.