Kartavya Review:
Saif Ali Khan can’t scream. No, it’s not a physical impairment. What I mean is that he can’t scream for screen, the way a Hindi film hero screams to the heavens after a loved one is killed. He can’t seem to be able to do it convincingly, atleast not in the recently released OTT film Kartavya, a heartland crime-thriller cut from the same cloth as a Kohrra or a Paatal Lok. In a situation, around dead foes and a friend, Saif lets out a wail like he just stumbled upon the instruction from a cue card. It’s sudden, loud and has neither agony nor vengeance. It seems like a call for help.
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Rasika Dugal, Saurabh Dwivedi, Sanjay Mishra, Manish Chaudhari and Zakir Hussain
Written and directed by: Pulkit
Streaming on: Netflix
SHO Pawan (Saif) has a lot to scream about. A journalist, who was under his watch, has been gunned down. The investigation is pointing towards self-styled godman Anand Shri (journalist Saurabh Dwivedi) whom he has been ordered to not question. On the home front, his brother has eloped with a girl from another caste. The Khap Panchayat and his own father (an impressive Zakir Hussain) are searching for them in order to restore their honour. It isn’t surprising that Pawan sucks on a cigarette in almost every frame.
But the viewer can’t seem to feel his moral dilemma. Caste, faith, daddy-issues, shots of fields under a grey sky, Kartavya is an assembled product from the heartland murder-mystery factory. It has the mood but not the essence. Its plotlines are loose and vague. Nobody knows the specifics of the story the scribe was chasing when she was killed. As the chief antagonist, Anand Shri is a cardboard cutout, played with a rookie awkwardness by journalist-turned-actor Saurabh Dwivedi. He is stiff and seems to have taken up too much for a first fully-fledged role. Saif, on the other hand, carries the film through his screen presence but his Haryanvi accent is too thick and can get comically distracting at times. The heavy-lifting is mostly done by the supporting cast. Rasika Dugal displays an enchanting ease in her performance. She plays Pawan’s wife and doesn’t have much of an arc but still manages to bring an endearing softness to her role. Sanjay Mishra as Pawan’s partner Ashok knows how to ably cruise between being funny and being shifty. Manish Chaudhari plays the compromised superior and is competent in his performance.
Kartavya threads together themes which, after a barrage of OTT crime-thrillers, have become stale. It offers no surprises. This is not a fast-paced police procedural solving a mystery or exploring the depth of the human condition. It is also not entirely a buddy-cop film because the chemistry between Saif and Sanjay’s characters comes and goes. Each element in the film has been sucked dry of any bite. Saif’s brother does an inter-caste marriage but their castes are not named. Anand Shri is a baba but his teachings are vague, applicable to any religion. The film itself is based in a fictional town of Jhamli which can be anywhere except that everybody there speaks in chaste Haryanvi.
In an intolerant environment making content is becoming increasingly difficult. Films are supposed to be mirrors but nowdays they are serving more as a photoshop for society. Kartavya plays it too safe and thus becomes a sanitized product which doesn’t offer a sharp commentary on anything. It is not a clear statement and only ends up being an awkward scream. A cry for help.
