Chowka movie review: Packaged diluted' drama

Director: Tharun Sudhir

Cast: Nenapirali Prem, Digganth, Vijay Raghavendra, Prajwal Devaraj, Chikkanna, Kashinath, Aindrita Ray, Priyamani, Bhavana, Deepa Sannidhi, Abhirami, Sharath Lohitashwa, Manvitha Harish, Tabla Naani.

With so many actors, multiple technicians - five cinematographers, five composers, five art directors, five dialogue writers and even an expensive stunt featuring none other than the challenging star Darshan, all for the 50th production of Dwarkish Chitra, it did garner a lot of attention for itself, especially with a debutant spearheading such a magnanimous venture. This ‘biggest’ package is wrapped up with a running time of not less than three hours, the longest in recent times!

So, does it guarantee entertainment when compared to its appearance?

In short, all that effort is an average diluted experience especially when it starts to prey on your mind in the climax.

Let’s rewind to learn on why it is a beautiful looking pot with a crack. First we visit the early 80s which does welcome with some magnificent work giving a great feel of the yesteryear, padded with fine portrayal of characters. After a few years, another set of characters are added with a separate plot.

Further, we hit the millennium and again new characters are introduced followed with similar phenomena. However, there is one character which is strangely linked with all the four different plots. They all do come together on a single frame in 2017 but that happens only after the interval.

Basically, the first half is all about introducing the four separate plots from different timelines. Before the audience are drawn to the boundary lines, the leads eventually end up on the wrong side of the law, convicted to serve sentence ranging from 14 years to life sentence. As the director decides to put all the four protagonists at one central prison, the mind rings for a break sensing it’s a three hour magnum opus.

With no revolt or any sense emotions for being wrongfully convicted, the ‘Chowka’ (means four) characters have accepted to live with it. In between, the repetition of a dialogue which is an advertisement for a consumer brand is another low point. Then, a great escape from jail hogs the rest of the journey. An innocent school master serving jail, a sole friend linked to all the four is ‘unbelievable’. An average in the end, ‘Chowka’ is a highly diluted spirit with hardly any kick in it. May be a paisa vasool for the brand associated with it.