Chehre (चेहरे)

"Chehre (चेहरे)"

Watched Hindi movie "Chehre (चेहरे)". This movie is directed by Rumy Jaffery. Produced by Anand Pandit. Screenplay and dialogues by Ranjit Kapoor, Rumy Jaffery. Music Vishal-Shekhar, Gourav Dasgupta. Cinematography Binod Pradhan. It stars Amitabh Bacchan, Annu Kapoor, Imran Hashmi, Raghubir Yadav, Rhea Chakraborty, Dhritiman Chatterjee, Samir Soni, Siddhanth Kapoor, Krystle D'Souza, Alexx O'Nell. The film runs for 2 hours 19 minutes and was released in Aug 2021. I watched the movie on Amazon Prime with Aditi and Dada on 9th Oct 2021.

Imran is driving through a snowy mountain when fallen tree blocks his path. Luckly he meets a retired defense lawyer who takes him to his friends, a retired prosecutor, a retired judge, a retired hangman. They propose to play a game, a mock trial, and invite Imran to become the accused. A mock trial or is it?

Will Imran accept? What will be the charges? How will the trial go? How will it end? What happens to the game?

It's a psycho thriller. Mysterious plot. Excitement of unknown. Mind games. A well handled plot and well directed movie. Most of the movie happens in a house with a few outdoor shots. A mock court, an accused, proofs, arguments and verdict. 

In my opinion the movie takes longer than necessary to start the trial after interval. The trial is developed nicely. However, the movie doesn't end with an ascending graph. At the time of verdict one wonders, if the verdict is in proportion to the crime. Probably even director thought the same after watching the rushes and then appended another scene as an afterthought to end the movie with a small surprise. 

Amithabh's long-winded closing argument is  scintillating acting, but script wise it appears a bit out of context and a gross generalization with rape, acid attacks, terrorism and law & order (in general) being discussed rather than the context of the case in hand.

All actors are established actors and they do well. Imran and Rhea ensure that they do not fall woefully inadequate in the August company. 

Cinematography is good. Outdoor snow covered locations are good. The last action scene, especially, deserves special mention. Music is forgettable. 

If a few things had been handled better, it would have become a good movie. 

Its a one time watch.