Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale review: Pratim D Gupta comes back to Bengal with a strong plot in a gritty thriller

Tota Roy Chowdhury, Shantanu Maheshwari, Anirban Chakrabarti, and Indrajeet Bose build a brand-new cop universe that is too engaging to find flaws 

A scene from Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale

Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale story:  

A gruesome murder shakes Kolkata. Seasoned cops Kanishka Chatterjee (Tota Roy Chowdhury) and Naseer (Anirban Chakrabarti) of the Kolkata Police Detective Department see an uncanny similarity in the execution from an old case. Along with these two, Ritesh Kumar (Shantanu Maheshwari) -- a young enthusiastic IPS, and Bishwa (Indrajeet Bose) get together in action. Soon there are more bodies.  

 Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale review: 

Nothing beats a chilling thriller on a winter night, and Pratim D Gupta serves it with a delectable plot garnished with a handful of red herrings. The film, which occasionally runs into predictability, is far too engaging to find flaws. It is fast, lethal, and entertaining, keeping the guessing game on.  

Also read: Chaalchitro: Pratim D Gupta opens up on making his film 

Pratim has laid the plot on the table, cut it into pieces, and jumbled them up to build the mystery. Then, all the pieces are gradually assembled to reveal the whole picture. He lets the audience do their bit of guessing while he does the rest—more efficiently in the first half than in the second. In the process, he relies heavily on twists.   

Tota, Anirban, Shantanu, and Indrajeet become the perfect players to lead (and sometimes mislead) the audience in this game. The director has picked the actors with care. Each of the four cops has a convincing back story (less so for Bishwa). 

Bishwa is a foodie and believes in the traditional ‘muscle power’ method of interrogation. But he also becomes sentimental when he gives his heart to a North Kolkata prostitute, Joba (Priya Banerjee). The gym-visiting, rough and tough, alpha cop feels a pang of sexual jealousy when he sees her other ‘patrons’. The scene between these two after he accidentally sees her with her customer is striking. When Bishwa asks Joba to leave her profession she boldly stands by her job. She reminds him of her choice in this matter. The conversation breaks the age-old and tiring men-rescuing-prostitutes-and-offering-them-a-better-life’ narrative.  

Tota is effortless as the top cop, Kanishka. He is cynical yet efficient and suffers from the trauma of a previous case. The actor looks suave in taking the upper hand in scenes with his new juniors. The recruit, Ritesh Kumar, aka Shantanu, on the other hand, blends smoothly in the narrative. Ritesh is young, ambitious, and smart, and surely knows how to make the moves – in the interrogation room, with his boss, and in life. Shantanu, who impresses with his performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi, plays it cool.  

Meanwhile, Anirban’s character Naseer is the most ordinary one which makes the actor’s job a bit more difficult. Naseer does not have Kanishka’s glamour, Ritesh’s ambition, or Bishwa’s enigma. He has no striking features to hold on to. Yet, Anirban steals the spotlight with his minimalistic moves.  

Out of the four women in the lives of these cops, it is Naseer’s daughter Putul who stands out. And the credit for this goes to Tanika Basu. Putul is a special child -- a character one can go overboard with easily. And yet, the actress pulls off a great performance. Her track is the most sentimental of all. Yet, she makes it captivating. She deserves a nod. Raima, as Mili, is pitifully underused. Swastika Dutta is convincing in her character.  

Also read: Chaalchitro teaser: Pratim D Gupta promises a rivetting thriller with Tota Roy Chowdhury 

Ziaul Faruq Apurba makes his entry in the second half. His character could have been a gritty one who slips into his twisted mind smoothly. Despite Apurba’s stardom, it seems he caves in without much effort. Meanwhile, Bratya Basu steals the limelight like Nolan’s Joker even within the brief moments of his screen time.   

Good writing often overpowers many loopholes of a plot-driven film like Chaalchitro. The storyline engages so much that some repetitive scenes can easily be ignored. The background score is fitting. Rupam Islam’s song is well used.  

Chaalchitro: The Frame Fatale verdict: 

With four major releases this year, Christmas seems to have stolen the box office festive thunder of Durga Puja. Chaalchitro is a must-watch among all. It is smart, engaging and entertaining, and strictly in that order. Go for it.  

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