Main Aur Charles Review

One line Review: Expect thrill, mystery and suspense to the core! And yes, superb performance by the lead actors.

Positive Points: Exceptional depiction of the 70s and 80s era. Stylishly filmed and executed. Fairly decent narration of the storyline and remarkable performances by all the actors. The griping and involving plot works like a magic when it comes to keep the audience hooked.

Negative Points: Although the editing was tight, there were a few stretched and dragged sequences. The film lacks detailing and touches only the basics.

Plot: The crime saga revolves around the protagonist Charles Sobhraj (Randeep Hooda).He is a supremely seductive, psychopath serial killer, best known as - 'bikini killer'. Charles chooses to con his victims by winning their trust, sleeping with them and, filch their passports and cash. With his charisma, he woos women like crazy, so much so that they do not even realise and they are already into him. Charles has been convicted of several murders in Southeast Asia, but, before he gets caught, he flies to India. The story then features the lands of Goa, Delhi and Mumbai. The plot unfolds further and the focus shifts to his Tihar Jail Break conspiracy. The director smoothly narrates and depicts the whole scenario of the Jailbreak plan. Charles takes the help of a few jail inmates and Meera (Richa Chadda) for his escape plan. Meera is a criminal law student and also is a victim of Charles's allure. Charles case is handled by Indian cop Amod Kanth (Adil Hussain); he is the one who owes to see the charming con man behind the bars. Kanth tries to unwrap the mystery of Charles's conviction and what he decodes is the catch of the film.

Direction and other Technical Aspects: Prawaal Raman has fared superlatively with the direction. The backdrop, the setting, the mannerisms, characterisations and every other little thing was handled with perfection. The stunning camera work and cinematography score full marks. Although, the biopic lacks detailing and touches only the basics, the clean and well shot frames earn brownie points for the film. The excellent performance of the actors in pivotal roles makes the film believable.

Performances: I will be disappointed if Randeep Hooda doesn't win an award for his performance in this film. The actor has moulded himself into the character and is so astonishingly good. He charms you all the way as Charles.

Adil Hussain as a tough cop is fairly good. He manages to get his mannerisms right, although he could have been a bit more convincing. The battle of wits between the two is worth the watch.

Richa Chadda is a gem. She essays her role effortlessly and with full conviction. The entire supporting cast was also pretty decent that managed to back the film well.

Music: The movie does not have many songs, which is indeed in the favour of the film. The background sound and the special tracks are nicely composed and are put in aptly.

Final Verdict: Overall the crime thriller sums up for a decent one time watch. The movie for me earns 3 out of 5 stars.