What always makes for an amazing combination is a brilliant actor teaming up with a maverick director. Chup: Revenge Of The Artist is also quite a brilliant piece of cinema for the same reason. Celebrating love for films and treating us to amazing songs and the work of the legendary Guru Dutt, the psychological thriller is an experience you shouldn’t miss out on. What I love about this R Balki directorial is how its premises is built on the love-hate relationships the film critics and the film industry share. Starring Dulquer Salmaan, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Sunny Deol, and Pooja Bhatt, the 2 hours 10-minute film gives you an authentic peek into the life of an entertainment journalist and the psyche of a Bollywood fan.
Watch the film’s trailer here:
Just to lay little premises, Chup: Revenge Of The Artist revolves around a psycho killer who is on a mission to murder film critics for reasons best known to him. But when you learn the heart-wrenching truth behind his actions, there is a tsunami of emotions and thoughts that will take over you. The film has been written and directed by R Balki, and produced by Pen Studios and Hope Productions, – Jayantilal Gada and Gauri Shinde namely.
Here’s what I liked about the film…
1. Dulquer Salmaan as Danny/ Sebastian Gomez
A florist by day, but a killer by night, Dulquer is the reason that you will have chills down your spine. In fact, right from his first scene, Dulquer gives you a sense of his character being weird. I must say, he has played the character so brilliantly that there won’t be a moment you will forget him, even after the film ends. Especially the laugh he has at the end will leave you with some impact. In all honesty, Dulquer owns every frame of the film.
2. Shreya Dhanwanthary as Nila Menon
My favourite in the film was Shreya, and that was because of her character as an entertainment journalist. Shreya gauged the traits of the character so well that it was relatable at many levels. Her aspirations, her ambitions, and also her love story with Dulquer were simply a delight to watch.
3. Sunny Deol as Arvind Mathur
It was quite a delight to watch Sunny Deol on the big screen after long, and like always the intensity he brought with the character was quite contagious. What I also loved about his role was how effortless it looked on the big screen.
Things that could have been better…
1. The storyline
While the story is very good, there are a lot of places in the script where the story is dry, especially in the first half. While in the second half, the story seems a little dragged, and what I also felt was the climax could have packed a stronger punch.
Having said this, the brilliant performances delivered, make it an interesting watch. I also want to make a special mention for Pooja Bhatt, even though a small role, as the criminal psychologist Zenobia, Pooja is quite impressive.
According to me Chup: Revenge Of The Artist is a film everyone needs to watch on the big screen at least once for the performances and to rekindle the love for cinema.
MM Verdict: 3.5 / 5 stars