Netflix original film KARTAVYA starring Saif Ali Khan in the lead role is a fairly well-made & engaging investigative thriller-drama that reflects on various social issues plaguing the hinterland of India. Written & directed by
@justpulkit ,
#Kartavya is set in a small town of North India called Jhamli & tells the story of an honest & conscientious cop Pawan (played superbly by Saif Ali Khan) who is entrusted with the task of investigating the murder of a journalist even as he is battling his own personal family issues. At a crisp run-time of just 1 hr 49 mins, KARTAVYA never bores you and credit to writer-director Pulkit & lead actor Saif Ali Khan for this. Pulkit, who had earlier made another hard-hitting Netflix film BHAKSHAK for
@RedChilliesEnt , comes up with an engaging plot that depicts the issues plaguing small town India rather well. The film bears a dark tone & look throughout and the BG score by Anurag Saikia is in sync with the mood of the film. Saif Ali Khan is in solid form getting the dialect bang on and also bringing out the intensity required for this character. He is one of the main reasons why KARTAVYA remains eminently watchable despite a few issues.
@imsanjaimishra is very good as always and his scenes with Saif are a treat to watch.
@RasikaDugal sadly gets limited scope while Zakir Hussain, Manish Chaudhary, Saharsh Kumar Shukla and Durgesh Kumar (of PANCHAYAT fame) are decent in their respective roles. Saurabh Dwivedi (who plays Anand Shri) is average while Yudhvir Ahlawat (who plays the child Harpal) is very good & an actor to watch out for. On the flip-side, the pace of the film dips in certain portions, a twist revealed towards the latter stage is predictable & the climax also comes across as half-baked. These minor issues aside,
#Kartavya (streaming on
@NetflixIndia ) makes for a good watch mainly due to it’s plot-line & Saif Ali Khan’s solid performance.
@RedChilliesEnt