Readers Write In #779: This is so CRAZYY that is it is CRAZXY

By Vishnu Mahesh Sharma

Before zooming large on the back of the protagonist Abhimanyu (played by Sohum Shah), the camera zooms past (with deliberately slow pace) a wall. On this all there are alphabets that goes like A B C….W Z X Y. Thus in the very first frame of the film, the (mis)spelling of the title is justified. However, this literal justification is followed by a masterful veritable justification in a deceptively meaningless crazxy chase sequence. 

Your professional repute, image and integrity is on the line. You have 5 Cr. in the back of your car. Now, a random arrogant biker obstructs your car at an exit and shows you a middle finger. What would you do? Do you take the risk (as it can be a trap also) of tracking the biker down, even when you have such an exuberant amount in your car or would you rather let it go to deal with it some other day?

Well, our Abhimanyu is crazxy enough that on one of the most important days of his life, he forgets everything else and chases the biker so that he can have his revenge by showing the biker a middle finger. This is Abhimanyu’s crazxa of “wining respect”. “You have to give it back to earn it back”. 

To our delight this is also the core theme of this s3tylishly emotional film. What measures you would adopt to grow in the eyes of such a crazxy person who has such a twisted idea of ego, arrogance and self-esteem. Well, the first chase sequence was your answer. You take him for a ride. Hence the rest of the film is, both veritably and literally, a thrilling ride.

Before discussing further I have a warning. Warning that I could see the final twist coming a long way before. Warning that if you have seen “Plot No. 5” starring Amjad Khan and Uttam Kumar, you may also see the much “awed and oomphed” reveal at the very beginning.

Nonetheless, I am exhilarated to share that while the twist and pace alone could have made for a satisfying genre thriller, here the writer-director (Girish Kohli) is not aiming for these easy and low fruits. He is bloody ambitious. As a result it is not the reveal that matters the most. It is the frame and moment after the reveal that hits the bull’s eye and hits it out of the park. The life comes full circle. Or should I say the life comes full coloring for colors play critical part in this narrative and its imageries.

When Abhimanyu dials his estranged wife, Bobby’s, number we get a contact picture in his phone. This is the picture of his ex-wife and their daughter. This picture is in monochrome. It has to be this way because for Abhimanyu, this is what his ex and daughter are- a dull and lifeless past. In contrast to this his present is colorful. How do we know? Because, the very next call he receives gives us this hint. This call is from a contact named “Jaan”. This Jaan is in pink gown. In this picture, Abhimanyu is smilingly holding his Jaan in his arms. The color contrast of these frames convey us on which extremes, of the spectrum of his esteem, these women stand. The same reflects as well in his phone conversations with them.

These conversations are simple but provide quite a peek into characters’ psyche. For instance, when Abhimanyu first reaches to his ex with the information of their daughter’s abduction, his ex does not believe him and treats him with disdain. She snaps at him “Get a life, Abhimanyu!” However, once the kidnapping is confirmed, the ex reaches to Abhimanyu pleading to arrange the ransom and rescue the daughter. This time she addresses him as “Abhi”. But now, Abhimanyu snaps “Get a life, Bobby!” Here again, he has earned his ex’s respect by giving it back to her.

Note the pet names used by two different women for the same man. While, for the ex he is Abhi, for the present beloved (the actual abhi of his life) he is Manu. After all, Manu is believed to father all the lives and which other name could have signified his perception that his present is lively and past is dead.

The color metaphor is not limited to the women of his life. A doctor – who is mediating a settlement involving black money- his name is saved as White Coat. But deeply concealed, under the guise of these color metaphors, chases and pulsating music score, is the soul of the film which comes at the surface in wonderfully satisfying manner in the climax. Beneath the twists, suspense and tension, the film is essentially a commentary about how we perceive intelligence and smartness.

Abhimanyu thinks he is very shrewd and suave. But the events of the day puts this assumption of his under the scrutiny. He is in a desperate situation professionally which makes this self-proclaimed genius a failure on that front. He has abandoned his daughter and wife labelling his daughter as financial and emotional liability as the daughter has Down syndrome. This puts his emotional intelligence in doubt.

In contrast to this, picture this scene. A major character (say ABC) of the film is drenched, from head to toe, in rain water. But even then, another character (say ZXY) quite empathetically distinguishes the tear drops on ABC’s face from the rain drops on his face. Whose emotional quotient is higher? ZXY with the help of another character (who is also perceived neurologically abnormal), takes Abhimanyu through the hell in a span of sunrise to sunset. Witnessing these events, can we question the conventional IQ of these other people who have executed such a grand plan in such an extraordinary manner?

Once, through these revengeful means, Abhimanyu’s perception of human mind’s normalcy is challenged then we see the colorless frame getting into the life wearing a blood red dress holding a white umbrella in the backdrop of a rainy night with Gulzar’s line “Aaj Chaand ko chumenge” playing in the background.

It is this skillfully achieved sentimental heavy lifting that turns the genre film making on its head to give us a cinematic ride that is much a genre roller coaster as much it is an emotional one.

“Jab aap ki rooh dhul kar paak ho gayi ho to bhigate huye paanch karod ki aukat geele kagazon se jyada kya ho sakti hai,Jab dhool bhara din dhal gaya ho to raat kisi bhor se bhi jyada sunhalee aur ujali ho sakti hai!Zindagi ke safar me jab mukaam tak chalkar pahunchana pade to lamdi gaadi ki haisiyat kya ho sakti hai,Jab tum ne masoomiyat ka hath tham liya ho to duniyadaari ek dal-dal se jyada kya ho sakti hai??”

These lines are the translation of the imageries the film leaves us with. What a superlative genre-mending-bending thriller that has guts to go beyond the conventional trop to amaze, dazzle, shook and hook us.