Came to know from social media that VK Prakash directed"Careful" is an official remake of a Kannada film titled U-turn. Having very less or zero exposure to other South Indian language films except Tamil and our own Malayalam, our experience with Careful is totally fresh. On that note, we should say there is no comparison here between Careful with the original and Our review panel in no position to judge whether the remake has done justice to its original.
Talking about Careful, we would say it is an emotional suspense thriller that keeps you on your toes for the most part. The story demanded certain level of pace to it and it also had to retain the mystery element unexposed almost till the very end. On both these counts, the screenplay has provided adequate cushion with it making Careful an overwhelming movie experience. The movie needed a particular tone and mood to it which VKP was able to provide with his making style.
Coming to a brief outline of the story, well we will try to be as short as possible as we aren't want it to be a spoiler for you. People who haven't yet watched U-turn and who are not familiar with the plot will be the ones to suffer if I reveal too much. So we have Rachana, who is in her initial stages of her career as a journalist. She is under pressure from her boss. The reason being that Rachana is struggling to find a convincing article for publishing. Ultimately she finds one leading to some mysterious happenings. What it is and how it is revealed is what Careful says.Obeying traffic rules is one of the basic responsibility of a citizen. It protects your life as well as life of others. So an element of social responsibility is involved in obeying traffic rules. Without going preachy the movie convey this very important and relevant message in a convincing fashion.
As a thriller, the film is able to keep the audience on the edge of their seat maintaining that mystery and suspense factor intact right till the end. A promising first half gives adequate scope for many guessing games about the reasons for the incidents that unfold on screen. This paves the way for a gradual revealing of the reasons for the strange things happening. At just two hours of running time, Careful doesn't allow things to go too stretched and everything seems to be under the control of its Captain.Where the film was found lacking was on the performance side. Some were just about okay and managed to get the passmark while a few others were below par. Sandhya Raju playing the role of Rachana the journalist wasn't able to fully bring in that anxiety level and tension upto the required level.Vijay Babu as the police officer and Vineeth Kumar as Rachana's colleague were notable while Saiju Kurup was okay.Parvathy Nambiar as the female police officer was a misfit in that role. It was a clear case of overacting by the actress. Jomol makes a comeback through this film. She was not bad but the character didn't offer anything substantial to perform. Asokan, Sreejith Ravi, Mukundan and Aju Varghese are also there in the cast as supporting actors.
This genre of movie requires the background score to be a little heavier and at the same time create the right feel. It was a good attempt that at times was going a bit excessive as well. Songs were on the positive side and matched the situations they were put in. The song right at the fag end of the film was too touchy. Cinematography was okay while editing had its share of problem.Careful with its interesting theme and with all those suspense, mystery and thrills is a fine attempt and has succeeded in keeping you guessing right till the very last minute. A better performance from some of the actors who portrayed key roles and some improvement in the dialogues (which at times was a bit dramatic) was the need of the hour.
Verdict
Film in its totality didn't disappoints you. Also the intention to convey the message of strictly obeying the rules of traffic in the end which in our present daily life is totally relevant.
Rating
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