28 February,2025 12:00 PM IST | Mumbai | Mohar Basu
Crazxy
What does it take to make a good film? The answer could be a thesis, an essay, an opinion piece, but it's actually pretty simple I'd say. It needs a good script. That's the highlight of Crazxy - through all its bumps, it hinges on a brilliant script. How else do I explain sitting through a 90 minute film without the urge to check the beeping on my phone. Much like all of you, my attention span isn't in a great place. Instagram reels have taken away the joy we felt in investing ourselves wholeheartedly in a film. I have to credit director Girish Kohli and Sohum Shah for reminding me that for the right film and the right story, of course the right actor, I will be seated through and through. Kohli and Shah pull off the unthinkable - a full-fledged feature film largely revolving around a single character. Much of the heavy lifting is on Shah's shoulders and he delivers the desired intense performance giving us the expected adrenaline rush.
Crazxy has a bit of a wild plot - Shah stars as Dr. Abhimanyu Sood, a surgeon on the brink of losing everything after a malpractice lawsuit threatens his career. Just as he despertaely tries to hold on to his reputation, he receives a chilling call -- his daughter has been kidnapped. This is the daughter he abandoned years ago, too ashamed to accept a kid with Down syndrome, even as a medical practitioner. Now, he must confront the past he tried to erase while racing against time to save the daughter he once rejected.
Kohli peppers the story with both nuances and easter eggs, making you chase clues and details. There's thought put into how this world functions, a lot of the dialogues are laced with quick wit and dark humour, both of which ease the tension of the story in a swift move.
But like any brilliant story, the lags are simply inevitable. For all the intricate story building and the urgency it evokes, the climax simply underwhelms.
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But what makes the film consistently watchable is Shah alone. Being the actor he is, he delivers in every frame. There are scenes in which he is a revelation - like the one in which a flat tyre delays him. Just then the kidnapper calls and his daughter is having a panic attack. In a high-stakes moment, he has to juggle two crises at once: guiding the abductor on how to soothe his daughter while simultaneously assisting a junior colleague through a tough surgery over the phone. The sheer frustration, his helplessness, and the mounting panic are so visceral. Shah gives you the feeling that you are trapped right there with him in this story, in that car. The car even doubles up as a supporting character here, the only companion who could be trusted!
The ensemble cast, though underused is fine, featuring seasoned actors like Tinnu Anand, Shilpa Shukla, and Nimisha Sajayan.
The most enduring thought after this film is that Shah is an actor par excellence. As an actor, he brings a brooding intensity to his roles, but as a producer, he does something even more remarkable - he champions fresh voices, giving flight to stories that might otherwise remain untapped. With Crazxy, he lends his weight to a vision that dares to step away from formulaic storytelling, embracing risk over predictability.
In a thriller, the decision to keep gore minimal is a decision of courage. Shah and Kohli weave suspense craftily enough to keep us on edge. It may not always hit the high-octane peaks it aspires to, but its ambition is laudable. This belief that cinema should challenge and provoke is a thought that must be backed and encouraged and Crazxy is a manifestation of that idea. The film thrives in its quieter moments - the tension of a stalled car, the panic in a father's voice, the eerie silences between urgent phone calls and the unspoken conversations that remain buried in our heart until a catastrophic situation rears its head. Even when the film falters, it never lacks conviction. At a time when movies are sticking to formulas and are dictated by safe bets, Thank God for this film that decided to bet on an extraordinarily wacky idea.
