An illegal U Turn in the middle of a long flyover in Chandigarh is the spot where fatal accidents occur. There’s one other element that connects those impatient drivers who remove a few loose blocks in their hurry to get to the other side, without replacing them properly. Who are these people, and what prompts them to do something that is patently dangerous, to themselves and to others? Radhika (Alaya F), a dogged intern at a local media house, begins investigating, and the whole thing snowballs into a series of unnatural deaths. Just what is going on? The film is an official remake of Pawan Kumar’s Kannada-language ‘U Turn’ (2016), which was set in Bengaluru. Right from the first scene when Shraddha Srinath who plays the trainee journalist character, is travelling with her mother in an auto, bickering about stuff mums and daughters bicker about- careers, relationships, marriages - you get the sense of a place. Streets, lingo, characters, all fit in. That’s the first jarring note you discover in the Hindi remake: Chandigarh has a very specific vibe, and structure, none of which is visible in the film. The other is a story which, in its insistence on keeping the focus on the leading lady, makes everyone else’s arcs sub-par. This results in a film unable to keep a hold on the viewer. Pawan Kumar’s ability to meld the real and supernatural, which was clear in his cracking debut, ‘Lucia’, makes him a true original. Even those who haven’t seen the Kannada film will find this one choppy: the source material is tight and twisty, so why make unnecessary changes in the remake ? Except for one episode in which Alaya F comes off looking suitably scared, even the other-worldly bits are flaky. The colleague (Ashim Gulati) Radhika is soft on, the cop (Priyanshu Painyuli) who is sympathetic to her cause, the other policemen (Rajesh Sharma, Manu Rishi) who are on the case, a homeless man who keeps a sharp eye on the proceedings, all feel flat and dull. As does the film. U Turn movie cast: Alaya F, Priyanshu Painyuli, Ashim Gulati, Rajesh Sharma, Manu Rishi, Grusha Kapoor U Turn movie director: Arif Khan U Turn movie rating: 1.5 stars
