Watch TrailerAjay Singh’s mid-air drama, Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga, now on Netflix, strongly reminded me of the 1970 Brilliant British film, Prefect Friday with Ursula Andres in which a woman cheats a banker of 200,000 pounds. And the way she does it, after befriending him and carrying on a very intimate relationship, appears fantastical. It is quite possible that Singh could have been influenced by Perfect Friday.
It is a thriller of sorts – or more accurately put – a high-octave adventure some 30,000 feet above the ground, and most of it happening within the claustrophobic confines of a jetliner. Well, it gets hijacked (or really), and attractive Neha Grover (Yami Gautam Dhar, who, in my opinion, is yet to better her lovely debut in Vicky Donor, where she plays a “Bong” banker) is an air-hostess on board (Often, it seems she is the only one). She and her boyfriend, Ankit Sethi (a rather wooden Sunny Kaushal) are out to steal diamonds that are being carried for an Indian Minister. Oh, come on!
It is a very poor script, full of howlers and absolutely unbelievable and contrived situations. Ankit meets Neha on one of his flights and begins chasing her, turning up in the most unlikely places. He is heavily, heavily in debt or so we are led to believe, and stage manages a diamond heist with the help of Neha with whom he is in love (Is he?). A hijack drama is thrown in to bewilder us. Drinks are spiked. Guns are “made” in the planes’ toilets. What more, now?
But midway through the planning, Neha discovers the real Ankit, and with all the while of a woman scorned, she begins to find a way of getting back at him. What could be better than having his face demolished and leaving him a pauper?
The plot had all the ingredients for an exciting up-in-the-air thriller, but lousy writing got in the way of a narrative that could have made great viewing. Instead, the script runs away with the Chor. Hotchpotch editing adds to the misery.
Finally, I have a question: Why is Yami picking such bad scripts? And a compelling actor like Indraneil Sengupta is left doing inane roles! More importantly, is it not time for Netflix to pick better scripts and movies?
An article in Screen has something apt here: “Netflix is facing a scarcity of creatives as it battles the talent supply issues affecting the whole industry, according to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria content chief Katja Hofem. While the streamer is noted for being able to hand lucrative opportunities to creatives and poach them from rival players, Netflix is witnessing a lot of challenges in our market Hofem told delegates during her Series Mania keynote yesterday. ‘We face a scarcity of writers, producers, directors and in Germany, especially, we also see a scarcity when it comes to diverse writers,’ Hofem said. ‘And we want to tell all the stories [we can] in the market.'"
Nothing can be truer than in the case of India. While admittedly the OTT platforms have provided a much-needed breath of life for actors who were left by the wayside by cinema, surely Netflix and the like cannot concentrate just on numbers to fill up their baskets. However talented an actor may be, he or she needs a really good script to perform.
Read all the Latest Movies News here