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Charlie Chopra Review: Vishal Bharadwaj's take on Agatha's Sittaford is steeped in Mystery, Mystic and Mediocrity
What: Charlie Chopra - Vishal Bharadwaj's cinematic detailing is persistently impressive, doesn't matter if the source material is Shakespeare's plays or Agatha Christie's novels.
Charlie Chopra synopsis
His fascination takes a detour from Shakespearean dramas to Christie's murder mysteries in 'Charlie Chopra' which is adapted from the Sittaford Mystery.
Set in the quaint and idyllic snowclad Solang valley near Manali, the plot ticks off with the murder of a wealthy Brigadier (Gulshan Grover) who has a flabby family. When his nephew Jimmy (Vivaan Shah) is implicated in the sinister deed, his detective girlfriend Charlie 'Charulata' Chopra (Wameeqa Gabbi) enters the scene to solve the mystery.
As Charlie begins to connect the dots, she is grappled with strange circumstances of the murder and multiple suspects, while uncovering the long-buried family secrets, friendship, deception and greed.
Charlie Chopra Review
Like any murder mystery, it keeps you intrigued but the level of involvement is mediocre, because it moves with a snail pace. Co-written by Anjum Rajabali and Jyotsna Hariharan, the story is plugged in with lot of referential detailing which mars the urgency of the narrative.
Known for his astute craft, Bhardwaj assembles a mammoth cast (Neena Gupta, Lara Dutta, the entire Naseeruddin Shah family - Ratna Pathak, Imaad, Vivan, Lalit Parimoo, Chandan Roy Sanyal and others) and surrounds Wameeqa Gabbi with them.
Gabbi is part mischievous, part funny. Someone who needn't be taken seriously. But she owns her part and renders a confident performance. Priyanshu Painyuli gets the maximum footage after her, playing the TV Journo torn between affinity for Charlie and TRPs.
Charlie Chopra final words
Between the mystic and mystery setting, Bharadwaj settles in for mediocrity.
I go with 3 stars out of 5 for Charlie Chopra: The mystery of the Solang Valley.
The web series is streaming on Sony LIV from 27th September 2023.
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee