Movie Review | Right note, amateur attempt

"Bhava Chitra" begins as a regular boy-meets-girl film but debutant director Girish Kumar B brings in reincarnation and paranormal elements to give it a twist of sorts. The romantic techno-thriller is about Vishnu (Chakravarthy), who works in a corporate company and is a passionate photographer. He is on the lookout for a groom for his sister, and registers for her at a matrimonial company. He ends up registering his name too. Enter Chitra (Ganavi Laxman), who doesn’t believe in arranged marriages. A slight misunderstanding between Chitra and Vishnu pushes the latter on a solo bike ride. He taps into his passion for photography during the trip but is shocked to see something unusual in one of his clicks. This sets Vishnu on a truth-seeking journey.

It is in this journey that we are introduced to Shankar (Girish Kumar) and Bala (Girish Bijjal), who are thick friends. How Shankar and Bala are connected with Vishnu and Chitra forms the crux of the film, which turns into a revenge drama. There is also the question of Vishnu and Chitra burying their differences. A lot of these questions are answered in the film, which is definitely not a run-of-the-mill subject. However, Girish who also plays a pivotal role in the film doesn’t properly balance his directing and acting roles and loses focus. The end product feels amateurish and becomes the film’s biggest drawback. He neither manages to bring out the right kind of performances from the actors, who were also making their debut with "Bhava Chitra."

The film begins on the right foot and the suspense factor does show promise initially, but what could have been an engaging film is killed with repetitive scenes, slow-motion fights, and an overstretched plot. As a first-time attempt, "Bhava Chitra" can be given a couple of free passes, but on many fronts, the film’s director and the actors definitely have a long way to go.

Bhava Chitra

• Cast: Girish Kumar B, Ganavi Laxman, Avinash Yelandur, Vinayak Nadkarni
• Director: Girish Kumar B
• Rating: 2.5/5

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