Review: 'Apurva' has Tara Sutaria asking filmmakers to take notice as she delivers a stellar act

Apurva

It took five commercial potboilers for actor Tara Sutaria to possibly grab a project that allows her to showcase her acting chops. If you're wondering why I say that, the trajectory is a clear one, it seems, in the Hindi entertainment industry. As an actor, you don't seem to get these performance-oriented roles until you've established a certain amount of popularity, especially if you're a female. But this isn't a comment or piece on the lesser-talked-about closeted sexism, but it's a celebration piece for Sutaria, who finally gets a project like Apurva - a film that allows her to be uninhibited and her viewers to be forced to change their stereotypical outlook towards her.

Set in Chambal, the film is essentially a less-than 24-hour story, where a simple, loving girl, Apurva, is abducted under unforeseen circumstances by four goons, and what follows is her quest to be able to escape and survive the horrors that await. Having had the chance to see the film beforehand, here's what I thought about it-

The Setting, The Performances & Subtlety

Two things: firstly - there is a reason this film is coming on Disney+ Hotstar and not in a theatre, and no, that has nothing to do with the scale of the film. But talking about scale and the many articles that have been floating around (including us), Sutaria has been repeatedly talking about how she's done everything in the film herself - no body double and other stuff. This is usually an oversell by an actor when films like these are made. But here, she isn't kidding. Sutaria is raw and authentic and hasn't held back at all in her attempt to stay true to what the character is feeling on-screen. 

To put it in a cliched manner, the lady has arrived and with aplomb. She shuts the naysayers up, delivering a performance to remember. One of the biggest tests for a film in such a setting is always when the decisions taken by the characters make you feel the emotion in the gut. It can be anger, it can be frustration and even some dark thoughts, but it is imperative to have that feeling the way it is intended, and Apurva makes you feel that. Seeing Apurva's struggles and continued ways to escape, followed by her decisions towards the end, you are rooting for her not because it's a given but because it is organic.

Props to the makers for keeping the setting of the film as rustic as it can be. Almost the entire film, except the flashback sequences, is shot outdoors and in a place that is an open area of nothingness but still claustrophobic. The goons have no redemption arc whatsoever, and it is a good call to do that because it helps you root for Apurva even more.

Then comes stalwarts like Rajpal Yadav and Abhishek Banerjee, who play despicable human beings and do a fantastic job at it. While Yadav's Jugnu Bhaiya is understated and more subtle, Banerjee's Sukha is flamboyant and a madman, almost. It is because of these two fine artists that Sutaria is able to shine even more.

Also,  the film isn't devoid of being brutal and yet subtle at times. The kills will make you flinch, and the brutality will make you feel internally, but the smaller moments will convey things well, too.

The Disappointments & Chapter Ahead for Tara

Amidst a film that conveys a journey spanning less than 24 hours apart from a few flashbacks, there is little to no room for character development, and the victims of that here is the supporting cast and mainly actor Dhairya Karwa, who plays the love interest. It almost seems like a tick box in films like these when it comes to a love story, but more often than not, a purpose is given to that in terms of the larger picture or the ongoing proceedings. 

Unfortunately, Karwa's character is given little to no arc even though he has ample screen time and purpose on paper. It doesn't help that Karwa is so stiff with his performance that even during his moments of scare and worry, it doesn't translate as much. One might argue that a particular development is what abduction leads to in the first place, but that could have been literally anyone, and it wouldn't change anything. Even towards the end, it doesn't become an important factor and ends up being an undercooked parallel story. The family, which should have had more substance to a case where their daughter is abducted, ends up being a blink-and-miss scenario, and the flashbacks don't contribute to the storyline in any manner (except one).

But this film should hold importance for Sutaria's career ahead. Don't get me wrong. She will still do the masala potboilers, which might not give her scope to exhibit what she's capable of, but the hope is that it transforms into meatier characters where she is at least doing a lot more than she has had to do in five films earlier. Another reminder that you cannot and should not ridicule any actor till you give them a deserving chance.

The Verdict

Not many credit director, Nikhil Nagesh Bhat enough. His film, Brij Mohan Amar Rahe, continues to be one of those underrated films that never got the light it deserved. And with Apurva, he reminds us what he is worthy of. What is fantastic even more is that the man has directed the already acclaimed film Kill, which is doing the rounds of film festivals so far.

Nevertheless, Apurva is an extremely watchable, quite riveting survival thriller that gives birth to an actor outside her commercial appeal and reminds the performance prowess of two phenomenal actors.

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)