Film: ACP Sagarika
Starring: Archita, Pritiraj, Mihir Das and Jayee
Direction: Biranchi Panda
Aain sasan payen, mu beiaain kaama kare. With a chewing gum in the mouth, great body language and some good fight sequences, Archita Sahu carries off the image of a lady cop with elan. Contrary to her bubbly image, she, as ACP Sagarika, does justice to the movie, which incidentally released on International Women’s Day. In fact, Odia cinema sees an out and out women-centric movie after a long time.
The movie directed by Biranchi Panda and produced by Dilip Das revolves around Sagarika, her family and her work. While she is the sweet and gentle girl-next-door at home, she is rough and tough when in uniform. Besides her parents, she has two brothers, the younger one, not her own though. Her dad had found him in a bus-stop and brought him home. While the elder one is involved with the mafia, the younger is a cameraman with a news channel. The real story begins when some murders take place following proposals for land acquisitions which Sagarika starts investigating. Her elder brother gets murdered too and the suspense comes out when the younger brother comes out with a past.
As far as the plot is concerned, the storyline is gripping enough to keep you hooked to the seats till the end. For a change, the female protagonist has no romantic angle. The music by Manmath Mishra is decent though the highlight is the song by Tapu Mishra after a long time. She comes on-screen for the first time too in a movie. The cinematography is also good with fairly decent special effects.
Performance wise too, Archita delivers what is required from her. Pritiraj as the gangster bhai and Mihir Das in a negative shade present some good performances while debutante Avisekh Rath appears promising. Be it as the chocolate cute cameraman in the beginning or later in a different avatar, he tries his best to successfully portray all shades in his role. Prakruti Mishra as a bubbly yet bold reporter is also a refreshing change. In totality, ACP Sagarika, backed by an original storyline, is a good watch.