Remake Kumar strikes again, ruining yet another South masterpiece. For the unversed, Cuttputli is a remake of the Tamil thriller Ratsasan.
Read Full Cuttputli Movie Review –
Director: Ranjit Tewari
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Rakul Preet Singh, Chandrachur Singh
Rating: 1/5
Runtime: 2 Hour 14 min
Storyline:
Akshay Kumar plays Arjan Sethi, who’s obsessed with serial killers, and aspiring to be a director.
When his film career fails to take off, he reluctantly becomes a cop. His brother-in-law (Chandrachur Singh) advises him to keep his head down, play it safe, and not rub anyone up the wrong way. Especially their head officer (Sargun Mehta) who doesn’t take it kindly if her authority is challenged.
Now, a serial killer is terrorizing the charming town of Kasauli, murdering school girls and leaving mutilated doll heads behind as their signature. Will Arjan catch the killer before it’s too late?
Watch Cuttputli to find out…
What Do We Think?
Just one question…..WHY? Cuttputli doesn’t hold a candle to Ratsasan, despite being pretty much a scene-by-scene remake for the large part. The Akshay Kumar starrer has significantly cut down the length of the original, which was 2h 50m, however, that has backfired since the tension in the plot has been diluted.
And in trying to shorten the sequences, they have chopped off some ESSENTIAL, build-up scenes that flesh out crucial character motivations. Instead, they’ve tried to fit in a CRINGE, frivolous romantic track that breaks the flow of the narrative and creates a rather jarring tonal imbalance. Literally, the Saathiya song just pops up randomly! So annoying.
Ratsasan was like a juicy jalebi, with plot twist after plot twist and the antagonist exuded such a bone-chilling, sinister aura. But Cuttputli really does its villain dirty – condensing their arc literally into a cringe 2 min montage! The climax, which made for a thrilling high-octane action sequence in the original, is made laughably bad in Cuttputli. (And so dark, you can barely make out what’s going on the screen) RUINED the COOL VILLAIN, completely.
Akshay Kumar looks too old for the role and you never feel fully invested in his character’s journey. Feels like he’s just breezing through. The insecurity and the emotional vulnerability factor of the original is missing in his performance.
Rakul Preet Singh as the ultra-stylish teacher is reduced to just being the flowerpot, love interest. Sargun Mehta, on the other hand, gives a convincing enough performance as the bullish, female cop.
Overall, Cuttputli fails as a remake since it never manages to keep the nail-biting tension and fear of Ratsasan intact. It feels rushed at many pivotal points, especially in the ending sequence.
Hit Or Miss:
If you’ve watched Ratsasan, then it’s a MISS. And if you haven’t, then I would suggest watching the original instead of Cuttputli.