Sanchita
Apurva Movie Review: Tara Sutaria Gives An Impressive Performance, But The Film Feels A Tad Bit Hurried & Predictable
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Tara Sutaria, Abhishek Banerjee, Rajpal Yadav, Dhairya Karwa
Director: Nikhil Bhat
Runtime: 1h 35m
Storyline:
Tara Sutaria plays the titular Apurva in this survival drama. The petite beauty is on the way to Agra to surprise her fiance (Dhairya Karwa) when her life takes a shocking turn.
Her bus is hijacked by a bunch of angry highway robbers – Jugnu (Rajpal Yadav), Sukha (Abhishek Banerjee), Balli (Sumit Gulati), and Chhote (Aaditya Gupta). Sukha is smitten with Apurva and intends to have his way with her. The helpless girl is dragged off the bus in front of the terrified onlookers.
Apurva’s fiance is desperately racing against time, urging incompetent police officers to action, It is now up to Apurva to survive the night and outsmart the gang of bandits before help arrives. Will she escape unscathed? Watch Apurva to find out –
Apurva Movie Review:
Apart from a couple of filler songs to outline the romance, Apurva doesn’t faff about too much and gets right into the gritty survival thriller mode.
The 1st half is tightly paced and the tension is maintained carefully with uneasy violent scenes and the scary hijacking. Apurva’s backstory and romance is generic, so the emotional investment in the character can only be found in the scenes when she’s trying to escape the clutches of her kidnappers.
Apurva Movie Review:
Apurva starts off promising and there’s a lot of potential in the deserted maze-like wall setting of the film – it lends a very claustrophobic feel. There are a couple of smart, thrilling escape moments. But the film’s short runtime seems like a drawback, as some sequences feel hurried and too contrived. The resolution while satisfying, feels predictable and the end comes too soon. The terrain could definitely have been explored more to elevate the thrill factor.
Apurva Movie Review:
That being said – on the performance front, this survival drama knocks it out of the park. Tara Sutaria as the bruised, battered yet resourceful and resilient Apurva has a meaty role. This part has allowed her to show off her acting chops, instead of merely being a pretty love interest.
This is one of her best performances – Tara reflects all shades of Apurva well – from being vulnerable, defeated and helpless to becoming quick-witted, determined and perseverant.
Apurva Movie Review:
Rajpal Yadav ditches his usual comic avatar for a more menacing part this time and does it full justice. The seasoned actor is convincing enough as a hot-blooded gangster. Abhishek Banerjee gives an outstanding, chilling performance as the leering villain, making one very uncomfortable.
Apurva has a solid premise and structure – it just needed to add on a few more thrilling moments. Nevertheless, it has an air of palpable tension from start to finish.
Hit Or Miss:
An impressive effort by Tara Sutaria and a masterful performance by Abhishek Banerjee and Rajpal Yadav. A bingeable thriller – streaming on Disney+Hotstar.
(Also Read: 7 Bollywood Movies Releasing In November 2023; See LIST)
