Movie review Chakravyuh: Manoj, Rampal, Deol shine, but poor score disappoints

New Delhi: To make a movie intertwined with the Maoist movement, name a hamlet Nandigarh (remember Nandigram?), throw in blood and gore, add love, malice, an item number as dollops, and voila! the movie is ready. This, in short, is Prakash Jha's Chakravyuh. Though it raises important questions about our society, yet there are no definitive answers. Nothing new emerges as you come out of the theatre. Maoist movement has always been a topic of discussion among the literate sections of society.The violence inherent in the struggle to establish a classless society has been opposed by sections of the intelligentsia considered leaning towards the establishment. Portraying the full, real picture about Maoist movement on the silver screen would have been a big challenge for any filmmaker. Director Prakash Jha,like his earlier trademark films, has this time again picked up a hard-hitting subject to portray the real and inside story. But alas, you won't find anything new.The story is about the clashes between Maoists and security forces. Adil Khan played by Arjun Rampal, is a highly decorated officer who is transferred to Nandighat village, placed in the heart of the red bastion. He has been posted here after a group of militants led by the elusive Maoist leader Rajan, played to perfection by Manoj Bajpayee, slaughters 84 policemen. Kabir played by Abhay Deol, Adil Khan's childhood friend accompanies him as a mole. He is sent to embed himself among the Maoists to garner information with the ultimate aim to catch Rajan. But Kabir begins to sympathize with the Maoists. The suspense: Will Kabir back away from his secret mission and support the Maoist movement? This is how the story proceeds. A Prakash Jha flick has always worked as an eye-opener to the audience. Compared to his classic Apaharan, Gangajal and Rajneeti, Chakravyuh has nothing new to portray about the Maoists. The demands of the Maoists, their targets are clearly delineated, the violence and ruthless killings are portrayed with full force, but the slow pace, poor background score and a couple of indecent performances work as hurdles. The fire scene in the village looks somewhat authentic, but the blast scene looks as if it was created by a student of animation fresh ot of college. Funny! Overall, Manoj Bajpayee of Gangs of Wasseypur fame adds authenticity to the movie with his performance. While Juhi played by Anjali Patil, another Maoist accompanying him alongside too gets some limelight. Arjun Rampal as a dashing police officer looks decent, but Abhay Deol takes away the spotlight from him. Esha Gupta playing another police officer who is Adil's lady love, doesn't have too much to do, but she does justice to whatever role she got. .I will give 2.5/5 stars for Prakash Jha's flick. It may interest you to witness the Maoists on silver screen and is thought-provoking but if you are well aware about the Maoists' demands, don't expect anything new.