Chakravyuh

Plot

Adil Khan (Arjun Rampal), a highly decorated police officer is posted to Nandighat, after a horrifying massacre of 84 policemen. Within days, he discovers that the Maoists, led by the ruthless and charismatic Rajan (Manoj Bajpai), effectively control the area. They are able to swiftly thwart Adils most determined efforts. Despite holding a position of enormous power as the SP of Nandighat, Adil has never felt so helpless in his career.

But then, into his life, re-enters Kabir (Abhay Deol). Rootless, aimless, the quintessential rolling stone. His only anchor in life has always been his friendship with and his loyalty for Adil. The maverick proposes an outrageous plan: He will infiltrate Rajans group and be Adils informer, and together they will smash the Maoist organization in Nandighat. In spite of his apprehensions, Adil agrees.

Sure enough, Kabir gets in and craftily wins their confidence, as only he can. He secretly begins informing Adil, who starts attacking the Maoists with great success. An enormous cache of arms is raided; two top national leaders and 63 activists are killed at an arms-training camp, and Rajan himself is captured. Within weeks, Adil-Kabir turn the game, pushing the Maoists onto the back foot.

But Kabir also begins discovering a different reality: The abject helplessness of the rural poor, brutally displaced in the name of development, the fruits of which never reach them; their land, their forest, their water snatched by their own government to allow big business to exploit the area and its people further. As the poverty and desperation rise, so does a cry of anger, giving birth to the Naxalite who believes the only way to counter this is with a gun.

Kabir also cant help getting close to the activists. and he begins identifying with them: Rajan; Babu; Venu; and Juhi (Anjali Patil), a dedicated revolutionary with a tender heart, who has seen pain like none other. She begins to fall in love with Kabir. The confusion in Kabirs heart intensifies dangerously until he is on the horns of a ghastly dilemma: Who does he support now? Who does he fight? He finds himself in a chakravyuh from which there is no retreat now.

And yet, before Kabir can make one last desperate attempt to resolve this with his friend Adil, events hurtle him into making choices that would put him at war with him. A war that would change the future of the region. A war that can end only when one of them destroys the other.

Cast

Production

Chakravyuh is shot in Panchmarhi and Bhopal. The movie was shot at Trinity Institute of Technology And Research, Bhopal and some scenes were shot at IES and MLB college. The entire schedule of shooting was wrapped up in about 57 days. The Madhya Zonal Committee of the CPI Maoists, has expressed gratitude for the film has, however, pointed out a few facts which are not in consonance with "their world". Maoists have given full credit to the film for being close to reality. Jha on his turn has said it was possible because of intense research in finalising the script, costumes and the plot.

Promotion

Prakash Jha has come up with a unique way to promote his upcoming socio-political thriller Chakravyuh by launching an online comic series. The first episode of the series, The Sohble Encounters, starts with a bunch of youngsters rounded up from a party by Inspector Sohble (needless to say a clear dig at Inspector Dhoble). Jha has managed to pitch it cleverly in the backdrop of his film. The first instalment of the series went online.

Soundtrack

Music for this film is composed by Salim-Sulaiman, Aadesh Shrivastava, Shantanu Moitra, Sandesh Shandilya, Vijay Verma, lyrics by Irshad Kamil, Panchhi Jalonvi, Ashish Sahu, A. M. Turaz. One song Tata, Birla, Ambani aur Bata had run into trouble with the Censor Board but was passed after a disclaimer saying these names have been used symbolically and it does not mean any harm or disrespect to any individual or brand. One song Kunda Khol is picturised on Sameera Reddy and Murali sharma. There is item song Tambai Rang Tera in the film, choreographed by Ganesh Acharya. Musicperk.com rated the album 6/10 quoting "This formation doesn’t work".

Critical reception

Upon release,Chakravyuh received mixed to positive reviews from critics. The Times of India gave 3.5 stars out of 5. According to TOI, "Chakravyuh is a hard film to make and marks must be given to Jha for sticking his neck out. Staying true to the subject, he gives us an insight into uncomfortable truths unfolding in our backyard. He is one of the few filmmakers with such audacious work to his credit." Subhash K. Jha of Indo-Asian News Service gave the movie 4/5 stars and called it a "resolutely etched, firmly grounded drama". Bikas Bhagat of Zeenews gave the movie 4/5 and wrote in their review, "Here’s a fight which we have heard about and seen through the ages – the fight between the Capitalists and the Communists. Prakash Jha presents it in his own way; and going by illustrious line of work, it would be a big mistake on your part if you happen to give ‘Chakravyuh’ a miss." Gautam Batra & Roma Heer of Wassupbollywood gave the movie 2/5 saying, "Chakravyuh is surely a great concept but fails drastically on screen. Watch Prakash Jha’s past flicks on CD/DVD instead of wasting your time & money on it. Not Recommended." Sukanya Verma of Rediff gave the movie 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "Chakravyuh maintains an aggressive cinematic tone with sufficient stock of blood and action to dole, but is nothing more than an average action flick in the garb of relevant cinema". According to Hindustan times, Chakravyuh is, ultimately, a victim of typical Bollywood excesses and gave 2.5 out of 5 stars. Bollywood portal Films of India said, "Shot flawlessly the movie is raw, gritty, with no frills. Watch Chakravyuh for its performances and high intense drama. If you’re a person who likes to use their mind, then the 3 and a half star Chakravyuh is definitely the movie for you."

India

Chakravyuh had an opening of ?15 million (US$230,000) in first three days in India Chakravyuh had low first week than expectations where it raked ?158.8 million (US$2.5 million) nett.

Overseas

Chakravyuh grossed $300,000 in extended 5-day weekend in overseas.