PLOT: The life of a teenage girl takes a turn when she is subjected to a horrific acid attack. But she resolves to fight for justice and reclaim her life.
Cast: Deepika Padukone, Vikrant Massey, Vishal Dahiya, Ankit Bisht, Payal Nair, Vaibhavi Upadhyay, Delzad Hiwale, Manohar Teli, Geeta Agrawal and Ipshita Chakraborty.
Director: Meghna Gulzar
MOVIE REVIEW: The movie is inspired by acid attack survivor teenager Laxmi Aggarwal’s true story. The film begins with the Protest of the Delhi Nirbhaya case involved in the heinous crimes committed in the year 2012. Police are seen dropping tear gas shells and charging sticks at the Protesters.
Chhapaak is the story of a girl’s struggle and courage after she is brutally attacked. This attack not only took away her face but also took away her identity. The acid attack injured her eye, altered her appearance, smashed her confidence and changed the entire course of her life. This is the reason that makes this, an important and motivational film.
Deepika Padukone is the soul of the film, she shines again and delivers a brilliant performance. Her physical transformation as Malti by make-up artist Clover Wootton is impressive. The writing is not polished well and the emotional connection is missing which affects the overall impact. Vikrant Massey as Amol gives a fine performance in his average written role. The romantic angle between Malti and Amol doesn’t work much.
Meghna Gulzar’s direction is not as strong as it was in Talvar and Raazi. Only a few scenes will make the viewers feel sadden when Malti sees her face for the first time in a mirror after the attack. Madhurjeet Sarghi who plays Malti’s lawyer Archana Bajaj got a decent role and plays her part with confidence especially in the courtroom scenes. Vishal Dahiya delivers good performance. Other supporting casts are wasted.
Atika Chohan and Meghna Gulzar’s dialogues are average and the screenplay is inconsistent. The plot does not give the parents of the protagonist as much play as they deserve. The editing by Nitin Baid and camerawork by Malay Prakash is good. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s music didn’t stand out, Chhapaak title track strikes all the right chords but Nok Jhok and ‘Khul Ne Do’ are just average.
Overall Hit ya Flop Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars (Good)
Direction 3/5
Acting 3.5/5
Dialogues 2.5/5
Story 3.5/5
Screenplay 2.5/5
A hard-hitting film, an important story that needs to be heard. Deepika Padukone is the soul of the film, delivers impressive performance.
