Apurva Review: Disney+ Hotstar’s latest film stars Tara Sutaria as Apurva, Rajpal Yadav as Jugnu, Abhishek Banerjee as Sukkha, Sumit Gulati as Balli and Aaditya Gupta as Chhota. Nikhil Bhat has written and directed the film. The runtime of the survival thriller is 1 hour, 35 minutes.
Disney+ Hotstar’s Apurva Trailer
Apurva Review Contains No Spoilers
Apurva Review: Plot Summary
The opening sequence starts with a group of criminals named Jugnu, Sukkha, Balli, and Chhota murdering a driver and his passengers. They use the car to head towards their destination. However, Jugnu gets irked when a bus driver doesn’t give him space to overtake. Out of rage, Jugnu and his men kill the driver and his colleague. These goons start looting people on the bus too.
One of the passengers is Apurva, who is on her way to Delhi to meet her fiance Siddharth for his birthday. However, her life takes a drastic turn when the goons kidnap her and take her to a secluded place to rape her. She is a simple girl from Gwalior, who is terrified but has no choice but to fight back against these men.
Apurva Review: Discussion
The first 15 minutes of the movie are enough to get your attention. You get an idea of how cruel these goons are. They kill people like it is no big deal. The entire sequence where they kidnap Apurva and later take her to a secluded place gives you chills. The disturbing elements are tough to watch, as the men are purely evil and have extremely distressing conversations.
The movie keeps you engaged with its narrative that doesn’t hinder the incidents happening on screen. The story only slows down when Siddharth, aka Dhaiya Karwa, takes over the screen and during the climax. The entire relationship angle in the backstory felt unnecessary. It doesn’t impact the plot overall. The girl could be travelling for anyone. The film’s grim tone suffers from Dhairya’s weak performance and character.
There are many triggering moments in the Apurva movie. The way these men compete on who will rape her first with a game is one of the most uncomfortable scenes I’ve seen this year in Hindi movies. Director Nikhil Bhat has gone all out while showing the animalistic nature of these men.
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The theme of the film is similar to that of NH10. In the Hotstar film, too, the protagonist’s survival instincts force her to make some of the most brutal decisions. It was a question of life and death for her. We see how the human mind functions when it goes into survival mode. In Bhat’s film, the intrigue is more significant because Apurva is a girl next door. Seeing her turn into a ferocious and ruthless person from a sweet and simple girl is a compelling transformation.
Tara Sutaria is incredible throughout, especially when she’s fighting for her life. The switch in her personality to fight the vicious men proves she’s capable of delivering intense performances. Abhishek Banerjee first petrified us with his bloodthirsty performance as Hathoda Tyagi in Paatal Lok. Well, believe Abhishek to make us feel disgusted with his character, Sukkha. He is one of the most horrendous men in the group, with no sense of decency. The reason you hate Sukkha is because of Abhishek’s brilliant performance.
Similarly, Rajpal Yadav as Jugnu gives a terrific performance as another monstrous character. Jugnu is a man of few words, unlike Sukkha. But Rajpal delivers a powerful performance with the menacing aura he carries with himself. Actors As mentioned above, Dhairya Karwa, as Siddharth, is the weakest link in the story. The character wasn’t written well, didn’t have a solid space in the story, and was given some outdated lines.
Apurva Review: Final Thoughts
Overall, Apurva (2023) depicts what a person is capable of when their survival instincts kick in. The story is unsettling and triggering, and there are moments that will shake you. Casting actors like Abhishek and Rajpal, who are usually the comical characters in movies as the villain, was a great idea. The fiancé angle and the slow climax are some drawbacks that rob the film of being a thoroughly gripping thriller. However, it’s a good one-time watch on your phones or laptops.
The film is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.
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