Honestly, I liked the beginning of Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga. It was sensible and yet mysterious. From the very start, you know that Ankit (Sunny Kaushal) is a problematic guy here and Neha (Yami Gautam) is the damsel in distress. Still, you were very sure that this story, though looks predictable, is not going to unfold the way you are imagining it.
But, unfortunately, all’s well that ends well, not that begins well. Like every other Yami Gautam’s OTT releases till now, may it be Lost, A Thursday, or Dasvi, this film too takes a downturn when the focus shifts entirely to Neha. You know why Abhishek Bachchan was hardly criticised in Dhoom, especially in Dhoom 2? Because on one side, there was Hrithik Roshan giving his all to the role, on the other side, there was Abhishek Bachchan being Abhishek Bachchan as a cop. On top of that, he never performed. The action scenes looked fake and all he did was pose in those scenes. It seemed like he had an ‘image’ of cops set in his mind that was far from reality, even from the reality of movies, forget about real life. It looked like he was imitating James Bond movies and trying to be one stylish cop where all he delivered was ‘style’ that didn’t even look good on him.
The same is happening with Yami Gautam. Though she is playing strong women characters in all her projects, she is not becoming the character. Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga was a role where character transformation was required – from a naive young girl to a woman who has lost her unborn child and is also about to lose the love of her life. This character had a lot of shades to explore. But all we get to see is a straight face with no emotions and no expressions where they were absolutely needed. That is why the second part constantly makes you mumble, ‘what the hell?’
Not just her performance, even the script wasn’t strong and as intelligent as it should have been for a revenge story like Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga. There are way too many loopholes but the way the story is twisted, you will keep wondering if what you just thought went wrong in the movie has really gone wrong. The writer thought that he would get away with the loopholes by confusing the audience but that is the last thing you want to do in a film. The audience always asks valid and sometimes, the most harsh questions. If you have no answers to their questions, you would never make a successful film. It could still have been an engaging film given the mystery and suspense that was built throughout the film. Unfortunately, the direction too wasn’t gripping.
With Sunny Kaushal’s re-entry in the end, I even wonder if Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga is inspired by any of the international films because their endings look like this where the villain returns, no matter what. The story, especially the one that revolves around revenge, never ends. This has become very typical though.
Having said that, it is still a one-time watch. If you have no party or travel plans, you can sit back at home, watch Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga and try to find the missing pieces to keep yourself entertained.
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