Crazxy
U/A: Drama, thriller
Dir: Girish Kohli
Cast: Sohum Shah, Nimisha Sajayan, Tinnu Anand
Rating: 3/5
What does it take to make a good film? The answer, one would assume, could be as long as a thesis, an essay, or an opinion piece. But, it’s actually pretty simple, I’d say. It needs a good script, and Crazxy certainly has one. Despite all its bumps, it is supported by a brilliant script. That, perhaps, is what helped me sit through a 90-minute film without the urge to check my beeping phone. Much to the credit of director Girish Kohli and actor Sohum Shah, I am reminded that despite my limited attention span, I can sit through an entire film if it serves a story and a performance that are worth paying heed to. Kohli and Shah pull off the unthinkable—a full-fledged feature film largely revolving around a single character. Much of the heavy lifting is done by Shah, who shoulders the film to deliver the desired intensity in his act, leaving viewers with an adrenaline rush.
Crazxy has a bit of a wild plot—Shah stars as Dr Abhimanyu Sood, a surgeon on the brink of losing everything after a malpractice lawsuit threatens his career. As he desperately tries to maintain his reputation, he receives a chilling call—his daughter has been kidnapped. This, however, isn’t a regular father-daughter tale. The daughter in question is one the medical practitioner abandoned several years ago because he was ashamed to accept a kid with Down Syndrome. Crazxy shows Sood confronting the past he tried to erase while racing against time to save the daughter he once rejected.
Kohli peppers the story with Easter eggs, encouraging the audience to chase clues and pay attention to details. There’s thought put into how this world functions, and a lot to appreciate in the dialogues that are laced with wit and dark humour, both of which ease a viewer’s tension rather swiftly. But like any brilliant story, this one too lags at several places. Despite the intricate storytelling and the urgency that the script evokes, the film’s climax is simply underwhelming.
Shah makes the film consistently watchable. His acting chops have never been debatable, yet, in several scenes, he serves as a revelation. We were particularly awed by a sequence in which Shah’s Sood receives the kidnapper’s calls informing him of his daughter’s panic attack. In a high-stakes moment, he is seen juggling two crises—he tells the abductor how his daughter could be soothed and simultaneously assists a junior colleague through a tough surgery over the phone. The sheer frustration, helplessness, and mounting panic that he experiences are palpable. He draws the audience in, making each viewer feel like they’re trapped right there with him in the car.
The ensemble cast, including seasoned actors like Tinnu Anand, Shilpa Shukla, and Nimisha Sajayan, though underused, is appreciable. As an actor, Shah brings a brooding intensity to his role, but doubling up as a producer here, he does something even more remarkable—champions fresh voices and gives flight to stories that might otherwise remain untapped. With Crazxy, he lends his support to a vision that dares to step away from formulaic storytelling, embracing risk over predictability.
Shah and Kohli weave suspense craftily enough to keep us on the edge. It may not always hit the right notes, but its ambition is laudable. The film thrives in its quieter moments—the eerie silences between urgent phone calls, and unspoken conversations until a catastrophic situation rears its head. Even when the film falters, it never lacks conviction.