Ek Chatur Naar Review

The quick take

Ek Chatur Naar opens on a grounded, realistic note and introduces a heroine built on guile more than brawn. Yet for a good stretch, the film struggles to pin you to your seat. The interval lands sharply, the second half finally leans into the story’s possibilities, and the climax springs not one but two twists that send you out on a high—just not high enough to eclipse the bumps along the way. This is the rare thriller that feels OTT‑ready more than theatrical.

Story & pacing: survival morphs into revenge

The film establishes its world with admirable economy, but the first 10 minutes don’t generate the early, nervy tension a thriller needs. Several beats—like a prolonged thief chase—feel over‑amplified for their payoff. The writing is building something, yet interest lags because motivations are either hazy or inconsistent (if the protagonist is already earning, why the sudden, frantic cash‑grab?).

The interval is a bright spot: a well‑timed cliffhanger that resets expectations and momentum. In the second half, the director finds a clearer rhythm; the plot begins to move with intent, and the survival stakes quietly pivot into revenge. The double‑twist at the end is genuinely satisfying—clever without feeling gimmicky—though it doesn’t completely redeem earlier missteps.

Performances

Divya Khosla Kumar

Divya’s character is written as chalak—a quick‑thinking operator—and the character assessment and experimentation are evident. Still, two things blunt her impact:

Vocal tonality that’s a shade less convincing for this gritty register, and

A performance that intermittently feels like an actor trying to arrive at the character rather than inhabiting it from the inside out.

That said, the arc gives her room to spring surprises, and by the end this arguably registers as her strongest big‑screen turn yet, even if it isn’t fully effortless.

Neil Nitin Mukesh

Neil gets a convincing, promising entry, but his role is under‑seasoned on the page. The bhaiyaji styling doesn’t quite fit, and a few choices around money and muscle (a high‑stakes kidnapping beat, for instance) stretch credibility. A late death set‑piece involving his character is emotionally primed but undercut by noticeably weak VFX, which deflates what should have been a chilling moment.

Standouts in support

Chhaya Kadam pops in every frame she gets—lived‑in, unfussy, effective.

“Yashpal ji” (excellent presence) lends the film the menace and texture it sometimes lacks elsewhere; whenever he’s on, the atmosphere tightens.

Craft: sharp ideas, messy execution

Writing: The bones are good, the fielding is set right—you can feel the filmmakers aiming for a street‑level thriller. But several contrivances nag: a voice‑changer app gag that plays dated; a night car sequence executed without spatial clarity; and a mobile‑theft thread stretched into a multi‑crore ransom when a cleaner, quicker resolution was begging to be used.

Direction & editing: Once past interval, the staging lifts; scenes breathe with clearer intent. Earlier, though, a few beats are held too long and let the air out of the tension.

Music & sound: The title track (Kailash Kher) is an early highlight—rousing enough to momentarily outshine the drama around it. The background score mostly supports without dominating.

What works vs. what doesn’t

Strengths

A clever core concept that flips from survival to revenge

Interval hook that changes the game

Double‑twist climax that lands

Yashpal ji’s gravitas; Chhaya Kadam’s scene‑stealing turns

Title track that adds texture and recall

Weaknesses

Early tension deficit; slow burn without the burn

Character coherence: the protagonist’s money panic reads inconsistent

Underwritten antagonist; the bhaiyaji vibe doesn’t fully track

Logic leaks (an implausible kidnapping attempt; repeated ransom ask; cash logistics that don’t add up)

Patchy VFX in a crucial death scene

Set‑pieces (night car, phone theft → ₹5 cr ransom) feel over‑engineered and under‑earned

Theatrical vs. OTT

This is a mid‑scale thriller whose pleasures lie in plot turns and character reveals rather than big‑screen spectacle. Between the erratic first act and technical rough edges, OTT feels like the natural home; its second‑half momentum and twisty payoff would likely play better on streaming.

Verdict

Ek Chatur Naar is okay, not knockout—a film where the setup is sound, the interval/second half course‑correct, and the ending smartly zigzags, but the journey stumbles on performance unevenness and script logic. Had it released in the early 2010s, its storytelling style might have met the moment better. Even so, the finale’s bite and a handful of assured supporting turns keep it afloat.

Rating: 3/5 — chiefly for the late flourish and the flashes of a better film inside.