Drugs. Cops. Gangsters. Youngsters. Mix ‘em up, and you get ‘Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein’. Or at least that’s what the film sets out to do.

Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein is a mix cocktail of drugs, cops, gangsters and youngsters, which could have been made deliciously! Advice not to sip.

Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein is a thriller that loses its grip in the middle but manages to surprise towards the end.

Naseeruddin’s Shah clever (as always) acting, ably supported by Amit Sial and Anand Tiwari, makes this crime mystery gripping, despite the flaws. If you can keep a tab on the multiple characters and their ulterior motives, this one is quite unpredictable and keeps you guessing.

Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein has nothing to offer but a novel concept and a great performance by Naseeruddin Shah. Otherwise, the film is a ‘Raita’ with too many characters and sub-plots.

…had the potential of being a classic, but ends up way below average.

The movie is all style and very little soul. And that’s a disappointment as it attempted to tell a really fascinating story of a mastermind. But do watch it, if only for Hooda.

…a spiraling thriller whose film-within-film format doesn’t quite make it into the league of the big crime tales of our times like Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Shaitaan. But the build-up of backstabbing betrayals and bathos is interesting. Shot with hand-held cameras this is the jerks’ saga that mines an effective crime subtext out of Mumbai’s polished surface.

If you are keen to watch a thriller this weekend, then Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein won’t disappoint. Naseeruddin Shah’s performance is the film’s highlight. Also, watch it to find out what Charlie really means.

The talented cast does well. But the astute performances cannot save the film that’s too clever by half.

None of the cast members deserve a mention, and even The veteran actor, Shah, seems entirely wasted. Perhaps imagined as an engaging thriller, the acting school performances marginalise the story which would’ve read like a tale of breakthrough twists on paper. If only that sheet made it to the sets during filming, this would’ve been an entirely different film.

It is like a complex crossword puzzle where the director doesn’t want to share the clues and keeps dropping lies to startle you in the end. It is like that child who used to lie that wolf is coming and when one day when the wolf really makes an appearance nobody cares to believe him.