cathal has a pretty wacky premise that would fill a half-hour sitcom with a slew of studio laughs. But when you stretch it into a feature film, its moodiness turns into an uncomfortable energy, observes Sukanya Verma.

Sleepy small towns full of crime and corruption have been the breeding ground for dark thrillers and cheeky satire since the start of OTT.

Almost as if they were demonstrating these extremes, hot on the heels of the gloomy Dahadabout a policewoman investigating a missing girls case cathala comical police investigation in which an inspector (Sanya Malhotra) must investigate the case of two missing jackfruits from the local MLA’s (Vijay Raaz) garden.

Set in the fictional town of Moba in Uttar Pradesh, these jackfruits are prized for their Malaysian origins and Uncle Hong pedigree. Pickles made from these special jackfruits fuel the political ambitions of the MLA, which resides in a sprawling home inhabited by high-spirited members and run by inquisitive staff.

Rajneeti mein jo kaam sadachar aur ooch vichar se nahi hote woh kabhi kabhi achar se ho jaate hain,’ explains the aforementioned politician. It’s only Raaz’s mad charm and short-tempered manners that make it a bigger deal than it is.

cathal has a pretty wacky premise that would fill a half-hour sitcom with a slew of studio laughs. But when you stretch it into a feature film, its moodiness turns into an uncomfortable energy.

There’s not much you can do about jackfruit alone, so director Yashowardhan Mishra and co-writer Ashok Mishra unravel another mystery, which is the gardener’s missing daughter. For the longest time, this hilarious car chase relies solely on the oddball crew of bumbling investigators and insane suspects to keep the farce going.

Sanya Malhotra’s efficient cop Mahima Basor suffers from idiots left, right and center. Be it her clueless boss SP Angrez Singh Randhawa (Gurpal Singh), who prides himself on his bravado when he’s not busy practicing with the ball and sipping drinks from a mug with his picture on it, or her sidekick Kunti (Neha Saraf), awkwardly juggling between chores and other things Duty calls.

There is also an obligatory romantic title starring Mahima’s police officer, Saurabh Dwivedi (Anantvijay Joshi). As if his poor judgment wasn’t disappointing enough, Mahima goes ahead and pleads with her superiors for a promotion.

Despite the poor writing, Joshi’s docile nature and believable regret for his clumsy behavior speaks volumes, as does his disarming camaraderie around Malhotra. The latter delivers another commanding performance that evokes a classic Shakespearean feel – although she’s small, she’s fierce.

cathal has the best comedians on one plate. There’s Rajpal Yadav’s balding head and ugly quips that underscore an over-enthusiastic local newsman’s desire to go viral, Brijendra Kala playing his deadpan part, a criminally underutilized Vijay Raaz, and finally there’s Raghuvir Yadav. Only until then cathal has gone completely insane.

cathal has its rustic milieu and fluent chatter, but isn’t quite sure what kind of film it’s supposed to be. The film begins with the arrest of a serial killer who was lured by Mahima’s honey trap and follows as her clumsy boss botches up the numbers on his crimes. It’s not remotely amusing when a rapist is behind bars. But cathal sees it as a chance for humor.

A series like Dahad For eight episodes he dealt fleetingly but decisively with the outrageous practice of caste discrimination. cathal brings it up too, either for the sake of a lame joke or for the sake of a superficial revolution.

For satire to work, it has to be more than crazy comedy. Unless they are razor sharp in their wit and clever in their criticism peepli [Live]they have little meaning.

cathal would work much better if it acknowledged its social inequalities. Instead, his preoccupation with misguided messages and apologetic feminism results in half-baked satire.

cathal Stream on Netflix.

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