Drugs. Cops. Gangsters. Youngsters. Mix ‘em up, and you get ‘Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein’. Or at least that’s what the film sets out to do. Which, if done effectively, could have been a fun caper. What you get instead is a confused mish-mash of scenes, with characters doing lines, snorting, shooting up, shooting at and so on. And on.

A big delivery of ‘charlie’ is hijacked, and the ‘bhai-log’ behind it want their ‘powder’ and the people whodunit. Naseer plays the investigating cop, as he and his colleagues sift through some incriminating ‘found footage’ of a bunch of young people (Tiwari, Sial, Rachh, Arora and co) sniping at each other in some kind of an underground den with graffiti scrawled on it, and bodies sprawled in it.

Matching the general tone, Naseer vamps away happily, nodding sagely and blowing smoke rings. He gets to be massaged by a luscious half-naked lovely, and spout some hilarious lines. One of them turns out to describe the film perfectly : ‘poori ki poori film chhod gaye hain, phir bhi samajh mein nahin aa raha kahaani kya hai.”

Credit : Indian Express

Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein Review by Times of India

The video replays the incidents as they happened. As things begin to unfold, the cops realise there’s more to the aforesaid crime than meets the eye. They trace down a witness, who can solve the jigsaw puzzle but he fabricates his story. Who is the mastermind? Though the ‘whodunit thriller’ manages to hold your attention, solely for maintaining the suspense quotient, various factors go against it. For instance, non-linear narration, found-footage photography and inconsequential banter among the youngsters. Also too many characters make the plot convoluted.

While a twist in the tale adds to the fun, excess of it, makes the film look tedious and far-fetched. While deceitful confessions and shocking revelations keep the tension mounting, an overdose of it kills the joy.

Naseeruddin’s Shah clever (as always) acting, ably supported by Amit Sial and Anand Tiwari, makes this crime mystery gripping, despite the flaws. If you can keep a tab on the multiple characters and their ulterior motives, this one is quite unpredictable and keeps you guessing.

Credit : India Times

Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein Review by NDTV

The film follows the investigation of multiple interlinked homicides that occurred in a city. The police find video footage of events prior to the murder and they try to solve the case based on that.

Reviewing this footage along with the additional commissioner of police, Sanket Pujari (Naseeruddin Shah) is his assistant Ravi Nambiar (Sandeep Vasudevan) and the newly appointed investigating officer Sameera Pavathe (Auroshikha Dey).

The footage is lined up in sequence to give a faint idea of the trail of events. Following this, a few suspects are rounded-up and their versions interlock the plot.

The script is written by Manish Srivastav and Amit Sial. Gilded with a heavy philosophy about perception and truth, in actuality, the film with its oft-repeated sequences, unravelling bits of truth, is a convoluted and complex drama.

What starts off as an intriguing murder mystery film, soon with its complicated tale, turns into a predictable yarn with numerous – characters, sub-plots and versions.

The characters are cardboard thin. There is no common thread between the five friends. Sam (Amit Sial) is a drug peddler who has a soft corner for Nina (Manasi Rachh), an aspiring actress. She in fact, is dating a fellow wannabe actor Deepak Kay aka Dips (Amit Tiwari). Patty (Anchal Nandrajog) has a soft corner for Sam and Jeevan aka Jeeves (Nishant Lal) is a hopeful director who is sex-crazed and constantly recording events with his video camera. They exist because the writers perceived them to be.

And the rest of the cast are present due to causality. Hera (Disha Arora) is a damsel who catches Sam and Jeeves’ fancy. Jabbar (Siraj Mustafa), Sohail (Subrat Dutta), Husaini (Vikas Anand), Rahil and Sayed are a part of the drug mafia.

The dialogues are everyday lingo with jargons used in the drug-peddling circuit.

The performances of the five hyper-panicky friends, constantly before the video camera, are theatrical and overbearing. Every scene of theirs seems staged.

Naseeruddin Shah with his pseudo mannerisms, a heavy-duty title, investigating a mundane case and showing keen interest in solving it, is predictable and thus a wet blanket.

Auroshikha Dey as the protocol following, investigative officer is perfunctory, whereas Sandeep Vasudevan as the ever-obliging yes-man to Sanket Pujari, occasionally elicits a chuckle or two. The actors playing Rahil and Sayed stand out and are worth a mention. The rest of the cast is stereotypical.

Overall, with its narration going in circles, this film fails to engross viewers.

Credit : NDTV

Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein Rating & Review by IMDB

After first day reaction of public IMDB shows Readers Rating 5.9/10 based on  users rating.  5.9 out of 10 is quite average movie rating according to review by viewers. Check live Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein rating on IMDB >> Live Movie Rating.

These are the official Charlie Ke Chakkar Mein  reviews & ratings by all major news or bollywood magazines. Check box office collection of  movie till now here from Ibtimes.