What Is the Story About?
ZEE5’s latest direct digital release from Bollywood, ‘U Turn’, is a remake of the 2016 Kannada hit of the same name. Radhika Bakshi (Alaya F) is a journalistic intern, who is working on a story concerning regular traffic accidents on a flyover. The accidents happen because motorcyclists regular shift the divider blocks to take illegal u-turns on the flyover, and then leave them strewn on the road, causing fatal accidents.
Her quest for the story leads to police officer Arjun (Priyanshu Painyuli) making a shocking discovery – every motorcyclist who takes an illegal u-turn on that flyover ends up dead by suicide within 24 hours. His deputy Inspector Inderjeet (Manu Rishi Chadha) is convinced that supernatural forces are at work in the grisly suicides. As Radhika and Arjun dig deeper, they uncover a shocking truth.
U Turn is written by Radhika Anand and Parvez Sheikh, directed by Arif Khan, and produced by Shobha and Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures.
Performances?
Alaya F has delivered a mature, restrained and convincing performance as the journalistic intern. She’s eminently watchable as Radhika, and single-handedly steals the show from the other cast members.
Priyanshu Painyuli is efficient as police officer Arjun. His is a crisp and understated performance. Manu Rishi Chadha brings a refreshing light-heartedness to the grim proceedings. Ashim Gulati is decent in his short role. Rajesh Sharma is wasted in the minuscule role.
Analysis?
U Turn begins in much the same fashion as its Kannada original – with a grave night-time accident on a deserted flyover. As the story unfolds, the pervading vibe of mystery and the supernatural hook you to the narrative, revealing the whys and wherefores in teeny tiny bits. At this point, the narrative moves forward at a fast clip, and is intriguing enough to keep the viewer engaged in the story. But this is only up till the time that the script of this remake follows that of the original 2016 U Turn.
Soon, the story takes off at a tangent to the original storyline, introducing plot points that get increasingly bizarre as they unravel. One might say that it is commendable that the writers and director of this latest remake of the Kannada hit (there are seven multi-lingual remakes of the film already) have tried to veer off the beaten track and introduce new characters and elements into their remake. But in a bid to make their remake different from the original, they seem to have lost the plot completely.
The second half of the film is especially messy, when Radhika’s back story takes centre-stage in the narrative. This part of the film is a departure from the original—it wasn’t there in the original script of the 2016 film—and is utterly unnecessary. It is also exceedingly repetitive and boring. All it does is drag down the pace and intrigue factor of the narrative, making it tedious, forced and downright boring.
The final reveal of the villain of the piece is not entirely unexpected. One starts to get an inkling of the suspense midway towards the end. It is different from the original, but not necessarily better or more interesting. Instead, the resolution of the mysterious suicides seems far-fetched, exaggerated and unconvincing.
The only good thing about this version of U Turn is Alaya F. She’s clearly matured as an actress, and manages to hold viewers’ undivided attention for most of the runtime. Also, thankfully, the script avoids Indian cinema’s notorious ‘male saviour’ syndrome, and lets the heroine play her own knight in shining armour, instead of pesky males rescuing the damsel in distress.
Another good thing about U Turn is that it doesn’t give in to the lure of adding silly songs into the story. There isn’t a single song in the film, which helps to keep the narrative reasonably taut and crisp, despite the bizarre happenings in the second half of the film.
To sum it up, U Turn is a reasonably decent remake of the Kannada original. We don’t agree with the deviations it makes to the original script, but those who haven’t watched the original or its Tamil/Telugu/Bengali or other remakes might find it an engaging watch.
Music and Other Departments?
Ketan Sodha’s background score is suitably haunting and spooky, without going overboard with the spookiness. Anubhav Bansal’s cinematography is average, and does nothing to enhance the quality of storytelling. Rohit Ajit Makwana’s editing is efficient.
Highlights?
Alaya F’s performance
Drawbacks?
Messy detours from the original script
Draggy and repetitive bits
Far-fetched and unconvincing resolution to the mysterious deaths
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, but with reservations
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, but again with reservations. Also, only for those who’ve not watched the original
U-Turn Hindi Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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