Apurva movie review: Tara Sutaria, Rajpal Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee impress with their performances in this thriller

Cast: Tara Sutaria, Rajpal Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, Dhairya KarwaDirector: Nikhil Nagesh BhatLanguage: HindiApurva is the name of this week’s new film on Disney Plus Hotstar. It’s also the name of the protagonist played by Tara Sutaria. The first few reels are dedicated to her picture-perfect life where she gets to flash her smile and dazzle in stunning outfits and enjoy the charming beauty of some gorgeous havelis. Her fiancée (Dhairya Karwa of 83 and Gehraiyaan fame) travels to Agra and she decides to surprise him on his birthday. Little does the lady know there’s a surprise awaiting her. Irony is what drives this survival drama.The atmospheric tension and close-ups of hideous faces appear here too. The basic ingredient for any survival thriller is a sense of urgency, which exists sporadically here. Abhishek Banerjee flamboyantly wears charm and cold-bloodedness in his character. Unlike Hathoda Tyagi from Paatal Lok, where his demonic side was humanized in the end, he’s all black here. Rajpal Yadav, in an interview with Firstpost, described his character as someone who’s evil but also very restrained. For someone who has unfortunately been labeled as a comic actor, this role comes as a breath of fresh air. This isn’t as solid as his Jungle but he does get to tackle a performance where he isn’t getting beaten up by an army of people we mostly see in those Priyadarshan comedies.And then there’s Tara Sutaria, doing a complete switch from her glamourous turns in Student Of The Year 2 and Ek Villain Returns. She looks appropriately bruised and haunted, both physically and psychologically. There are multiple sequences of chases and hiding. She has to combine brain and brawn and escape from the hell she’s been trapped in. Just like Anushka Sharma from NH10, Sutaria has nowhere to go. But unlike that drama, this film doesn’t jolt as effectively despite some impressive performances on display.It’s completely understandable why the three actors said yes to the film. Two of them just did Dream Girl 2 together and are known for their comedic talent, and the leading lady had the opportunity to walk on a turf that she never walked on before. It’s commendable they attempted to break out of their comfort (or cliched?) zone. And then there’s director and writer Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, who also directed the web show The Gone Game. He judiciously used the pandemic as a device to narrate the story of a family confined in their respective spaces. And here, despite the expanse of the desert which also becomes one of the central characters of the narrative, it’s too claustrophobic for Apurva.What the film needed was little more tension and excitement. We needed to react exactly how Apurva the character does when she finds her life turn has upside down within seconds. Maybe next time.Rating: 2.5 (out of 5 stars)Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.