Sanya Malhotra-led Kathal is a funny satirical drama that gets its message across without being preachy. The supporting cast gives great comic performances too!
Read Full Kathal Movie Review
Rating: 3/5
Director: Yashowardhan Mishra
Cast: Sanya Malhotra, Anant Joshi, Neha Saraf, Rajpal Yadav, Vijay Raaz
Runtime: 1h 55m
Storyline:
After catching a big criminal but still not getting her due, Inspector Mahima (Sanya) is nevertheless looking forward to solving bigger, important cases. But she gets tasked with a petty theft case – two kathals (exotic jackfruit) have been stolen from an MLA’s (Vijay Raaz) house.
Owing to the political pressure, the whole unit is desperate to find these jackfruits before they ripen. The prime suspect in the case is the MLA’s gardener whose rebellious daughter is missing. Apparently, the police are ignoring the cases of multiple such missing girls in favour of searching for the politician’s jackfruit.
Meanwhile, a reporter (Rajpal Yadav) from the local news channel is also sniffing around for a big scoop and he gets his hand on something sensational. Will Mahima find both the missing girl and the kathals? Will her relationship with her boyfriend (Anant Joshi), who also happens to be her junior, be affected?
What Do We Think:
Kathal is a pretty amusing satire that keeps you fairly engaged from start to finish. It is funny and gets its message across without being preachy.
The absurd premise reels you in, to take you on an unexpected journey altogether – as Sanya’s Mahima uses the silly jackfruit case to dig deeper into a serious complaint regarding a missing girl. Kathal slyly takes a dig at the incompetence of the system, caste dynamics in the society and the inherent patriarchy and sexism.
The wacky jackfruit story feels a little stretched beyond its welcome and there are brief lulls in the story. But some comic scenes are really quite funny – especially a fight scene in the climax.
Sanya Malhotra has done a top-notch job as the cop – she is fierce, constantly irritated but still caring, and as a person from a marginalised community knows how to stand up for herself. But there are some flaws too – despite progressing in her career, somewhere she feels guilty that her partner works under her.
Anant Joshi who plays Sanya’s boyfriend and junior in Kathal, starts off as an annoying power-tripping cop backed by his caste privilege but shows a willing transformation when Sanya’s character calls him out on his bullshit.
Neha Saraf makes for a refreshing presence on the screen – she is perfect as the cop struggling to balance her housewife duties. Be it her exasperation, helplessness or comic reaction – Neha nails it all extremely naturally. Vijay Raaz and Rajpal Yadav too have impeccable comic sense and lift the material even when it falters.
Overall, Kathal makes for a breezy, light-hearted watch that still has a message subtly hidden underneath.
Hit Or Miss:
It’s streaming on Netflix. Definitely worth watching once!