PremiumTakkar review: Dear Siddharth and Divyansha Kaushik, what were you thinking?
Filmmaker Karthik G. Krish has filled this movie with so many regressive ideas camouflaging them in the skin of youthful drama that doesn't judge an unmarried woman with an active sex life.
Last Updated: 03.24 PM, Jun 09, 2023
Story: Takkar tells the story of Gunashekhar (Siddharth) who comes to Chennai to get rich fast. He takes up a job as a taxi driver in the city as he continues to search for the opportunity to become rich. He unwittingly rescues a rich girl named Lucky (Divyansha Kaushik) from kidnappers and they both go on a road trip exploring the state highways and each other.
Review: In a delicate moment in Takkar, Gunashekhar asks Lucky this: "Do you hate all men?" She responds in affirmation, "Yes, I'm a feminist." When you understand that you are watching a movie made by a director who thinks feminism is equal to hating men, you know you are in a territory of obnoxious wisdom. If you are a progressive thinker and you are alert to gender stereotyping and blatant body shaming, this movie would drive you to the edge.
Filmmaker Karthik G. Krish has filled this movie with so many regressive ideas camouflaging them in the skin of youthful drama that doesn't judge an unmarried woman with an active sex life. Karthik might have even looked down derisively on the old movies that preached moral values to women while patting his own back for writing a leading female character who smokes, drinks and engages in causal relationships without any guilt. But, she gets slapped and punched in the face by men in her life more than Yogi Babu's character in the movie.
After a few twists and turns, Lucky finds herself in the protection of Gunashekhar. And she tells him she needs a break from everything going around, including her kidnapping while asking him to take her on a road trip till he gets tired of her. And in return, she promises the ransom that her uber-rich and selfish dad has earmarked for her kidnappers. Gunashekhar, who nurtures the ambition of becoming rich, takes on the offer. But, during the trip, he falls in love with Lucky and gains the knowledge that there are things that money can't buy. How original!
And Gunashekhar wastes no time and proposes Lucky but Lucky refuses his heart saying she doesn't believe in love. "Men lose interest in women after sex," she says something to that effect. And Gunashekhar challenges arguing that he's not that type of man. He promises to care for her and love her the same way even after the act. Lucky makes a bet and that night they both engage in physical intimacy. The next morning, Gunashekhar showers Lucky with grand gestures of chivalry and he has already tamed the feminist in her. Exactly four scenes later, Gunashekhar slaps the light out of her and chases her off. What was Karthik thinking when he wrote this in the movie, showing his heroine getting slapped around without a hint of self-respect? Because he goes back to the men who hit her and treat her like an object.
And what was Siddharth thinking when he performed that scene without asking any questions? Didn't Divyansha Kaushik have anything to say to the filmmaker?
It seems Siddharth was so eager to redefine himself as an action hero he was willing to overlook the numerous issues with the movie's narrative. However, there are also a handful of moments in Takkar that clicks. For example, when Gunashekhar becomes a getaway driver for two kidnappers, who are being pursued by the police. The chase is well-staged. Even though the scene leading to that chase is childish as for some reason the seasoned kidnapper thinks it's okay to drop his victim directly at her home and get paid on delivery. The villain was too simple-minded to plan a complicated ransom drop.
But, if we begin to examine this movie in terms of logic there could be no end. Let's not go down that road to protect our sanity.
The verdict: In the movie, Lucky repeatedly fails to use her best judgement. Don't be Lucky.