Actor Himanshu Malik bravely dives into the treacherous waters of young romance in his feature debut Chitrakut. The JioCinema release revolves around characters in various stages of love.
The chef Debu (Vibhore Mayank) is in a complicated relationship with boutique story employee Alisha (Naina Trivedi). Debu’s personal as well as professional priorities change after he meets Kim (Shruti Bapna). The dancer Saloni (Auritra Ghosh) is in an equally messy entanglement with Shaan (Kiran Srinivas). An inspector at the race course, Shaan has a troubled past and a loose attitude towards an honest day’s work.
The episodic narrative is filled with moments of longing and despair, passion that pickles into misunderstanding, and ugly arguments that stem from the ambivalence the characters feel towards their partners. There is some acuity in the observations of ambition rubbing up against pragmatism, decency clashing with egotism. But the film is too diffused and indulgent of its characters to make its points clearly. There is one dreamy montage too many.
Two songs are beautifully used – Maan Le, composed by Somesh Saha and performed by Arijit Singh, and the Konkani classic song Aikat Mozo Tavo, composed by Robbie Monsorate and sung from the heart by Lorna Cordeiro. Kiran Srinivas and Auritra Ghosh turn out the most noteworthy performances.