263. Custody; movie review

CUSTODY

Cert 12A

135 minutes

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, bloody images, threat

It has taken more than a decade of watching Indian films to realise that the masala genre is probably not for me. 

Custody exemplifies why. It is a compelling chase movie but is diluted by unfunny and unnecessary comedy scenes

Venkat Prabhu's movie has a laudable hero in Naga Chaitanya's Shiva - a police constable who has a good heart and an unswerving moral compass.

These attributes should propel him up the ranks but his 'superiors' are mired in corruption and good police work is seen as secondary to lining pockets.

Then comes the movie's defining moment when he unwittingly arrests both a notorious criminal (Aravind Swamy) and the federal officer (Sampath Raj) who has held him.

This results in an unravelling of links between the cops and senior politicians and results in one of the most dramatic chase films I have seen in a long time.

Brought into the action are Shiva's love (Krithi Shetty) and his family as he tries to get the criminal to court in Bangalore.

The accompanying 'comedy' and song and dance numbers surround the "will, they won' they?" romance.

Anyway, Prabhu throws everything at Custody - there are intense fight scenes in a police station, inside a dam, at a fairground and on a train and each time it seems as if Shiva's route of escape is impossible.

And his conclusion, albeit a bit rushed by comparison to the rest of the film, is satisfying.

This is yet another Indian movie in which the lead character beats up unfeasible amount of henchmen and seems to bat off injuries which would floor any other man.

But I found myself rooting for Shiva rather than being bored by him and, ultimately, that means the director has hit the target and Chaitanya has also done his job.

Shame about the feeble attempt for laughs and distracting songs along the way,

Reasons to watch: Fast-moving chase movie

Reasons to avoid: Dampened by daft comedy

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know?  In 2020, 50 per cent of those polled in India's Mood of the Nation survey believed that politicians were the most corrupt people in the country. 19 per cent of those polled said it was the police that were the most corrupt. 

The final word. Naga Chaitanya: "Custody has all the trapping of a Venkat Prabhu film. It has elements of quirk and entertainment that keep popping up every 10-15 minutes. they are not set in blocks but are integrated into characters instead." Film Companion

 

Share this post