Kartavya

‘करम करते हैं, धरम छूटता है। धरम निभाने जाते हैं, करम छूटता है। कर्तव्य तक तो बात पहुंच ही नहीं पाती।’ सैफ अली खान की नई फिल्म ‘कर्तव्य’ का यह डायलॉग इसके राइटर-डायरेक्टर पुलकित पर ज्यादा लागू होता है, क्योंकि फिल्म के मुख्य किरदार की तरह वह खुद करम-धरम की दुविधा में फंसे नजर आते हैं। फिल्म में वह ऑनर किलिंग, फर्जी बाबाओं के काले सच, उनके प्रति लोगों की अंधभक्ति, बाल यौन शोषण जैसे गंभीर मुद्दे उठाते तो हैं, लेकिन इन संवेदनशील मुद्दों की तह में जाने की बजाय जल्द ही पतली गली पकड़कर उन्हें बस छूकर निकल लेते हैं।

Small town upright cop up against the all-powerful mobster. That could also be read as monster. Because the bad guy in Kartavya is yet another variant of the dhongi baba from Ashram, and several others that I’m finding hard to remember now because there have been so many of varied stripes but who broadly adhere to the ground rule: the more beatific you look, the more depraved you are. It says something about the utterly generic Kartavya, a crime thriller set in Haryana, that the good guy, played by Saif Ali Khan is surrounded by a bunch of bad guys — a senior cop (Manish Chaduhuri) who keeps blocking Pawan’s (Saif Ali Khan) path, and a junior cop (Sanjay Mishra) who is a constant companion, basically playing the BFF trope, and not one of them has been given a characteristic that we haven’t seen before.

Saif Ali Khan can’t scream. No, it’s not a physical impairment. What I mean is that he can’t scream for screen, the way a Hindi film hero screams to the heavens after a loved one is killed. He can’t seem to be able to do it convincingly, atleast not in the recently released OTT film Kartavya, a heartland crime-thriller cut from the same cloth as a Kohrra or a Paatal Lok. In a situation, around dead foes and a friend, Saif lets out a wail like he just stumbled upon the instruction from a cue card. It’s sudden, loud and has neither agony nor vengeance. It seems like a call for help.

When a 16-year-old boy goes missing, small-town cop Pawan Malik (Saif Ali Khan) is pulled into an investigation that gradually unravels disturbing truths involving a powerful spiritual leader, child exploitation, and the deeply entrenched caste prejudices within his own family. At its core, the film is an earnest, well acted crime drama that places justice and conscience above blind familial loyalty. Pawan’s inner turmoil as a man torn between duty and love for family has been explored well. The crime drama tackles heavy societal themes like honour killing, casteism, and abuse with sincerity, but the impact is diluted by an overly predictable screenplay. The central twist is easy to foresee, leaving very little room for suspense or genuine intrigue. The narrative is thoughtful, but the execution feels underwhelming. A sharper atmospheric tone and sense of dread would have helped it find its rhythm.

Policeman Pawan has a lot on his plate in Kartavya and it’s not cake. Although the movie begins with a scene of him cutting one. It’s his fortieth birthday and one he’s unlikely to forget for a long, long time. But for a few moments past midnight, outside Jhamli station, a fictional town in what sounds a lot like Haryana, the mood is cheerful and celebratory. Pawan (Saif Ali Khan) appears so entertained by his subordinate Ashok (Sanjay Mishra), you barely notice his laboured accent. Only they are cops at the end of the day and banter will end in bloodshed. Pretty much what happens when a senior journalist they are escorting is gunned down by unknown assailants.