Sushant Mani is back and this time with a suspense thriller. After the much successful Chocolate that bagged several State-level awards under various categories, the latest from Sushant is Luchakali - Catch me if you can.
The two things common in both the movies are Babushan and Sushant’s perfection as far as treatment of the story is concerned.
The film is an interesting love story between sand artist Tanmay Mishra (Babushan) and a pretty bookseller Monalisa (Shreya Jha) till their affair is objected by the latter’s parents. She is then married off to psycho-killer, played by Samaresh Routray, who also takes pleasure in torturing his wife.
It is the villain who clearly dominates the screen. Even as Babushan and Shreya put up commendable performances, Samaresh steals the show at many turns. The actor dominates over all other characters in the movie. The talented actor that Samaresh is, he seems to have all the requisites of a villain - rough looks, mannerism and good physique.
The Babushan and Shreya pair was last seen together in ‘Satru Sanghara’ and ‘Ama bhitere Kichi Achi Ki’. Babushan’s imposing appearance, agile movements and subdued acting helps in maintaining the seriousness of the film.
Shreya is appealing in the movie.
“This is my first attempt at a thriller. We have tried to put in elements of a love story, suspense and comedy in the film,” says the director.
Sushant, who has also written the script, has shot the movie with high-resolution Arri Alexa camera.
The movie has a lot of special effects to keep the thrill quotient up.
Even as the movie scores high on technical aspects, there are some loose ends to the music. Compared to Sushant’s previous hit Chocolate, the music in Luchakali is slow. The film’s music has been scored by Anbu Selvan who happens to be the guitarist of A R Rahman. Goodly Rath’s soulful musical touch in Sushant’s Chocolate is missing this time.
The background score, though overdone, heightens the tension and is perfect for the mood of the film. The film has a special appearance from Bengali actress Megha Ghose, who has done an item number Ae Deha Barabhare. “None of the songs in the movie appear out of place. Even the item number is an important part of the film,” the director adds.
While Sushant has also done the screenplay of the film, Bapu Goswami has written the dialogues. Infact, Luchakali is the third venture of Sushant where Goswami has penned the dialogues.
Besides Samaresh, Babushan and Shreya, Luchakali has Bijay Mohanty, Ajit Das, Choudhary Bikas Das, Sweta Acharya, Kunmun, Ankita and Alina, as the supporting actors. The film has been shot at various locations of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Dhenkanal.
Produced under the banner of S 3 Movies by Nilakantha Das, the film released in 45 theatres across the State on March 30. Collections of Luchakali have been average at the box office so far.