Film Review: Soha Ali Khan stands out in lacklustre 'Chaarfutiya Chhokare'

Chaarfutiya Chhokare
Cast: Soha Ali Khan, Harsh Mayar , Shankar Mandal, Aditya Jaiswal, Seema Biswas
Director: Manish Harishankar
Rating: **

What's it about: Chaarfutiya Chhokare is a story of three kids  trapped in the world of crime that involves child trafficking. Neha (Soha Ali Khan), a software engineer who wants to open a school in North Bihar, however little does she know about the issues that have plagued the region or the dark underbelly of criminal activities that go on.  The film chronicles her helplessness and struggle to try and do whatever she can in her capacity to save these kids from becoming victims. There are quite a few brutal and hard hitting moments in the film that stand out because of some good writing and acting by Soha. 

What's hot: There is no doubt that Chaarfutiya Chhokare wouldn't have been the same experience without its lead actor Soha Ali Khan. She sparkles in almost every scene and makes it her own. One can see that she's not just in character but is genuinely attached to the issue and quite vehement in her argument and fight. 
The  kids played by Harsh Mayar (Awadhesh), Shankar Mandal (Gorakh) and Aditya Jaiswal (Hari) are remarkably good. Music is decent, the tracks that stay with you after the film are  'Kaun Si Nagariya' and 'Haldi Ke Rang'. Seema Biswas (Janaki) who play’s Awadhesh’s mother delivers a stand out performance.

What's not: Even though the issue at hand is serious, a few frivolous moments take away the attention from the real issue at hand. Also the setting could have been better, the feeling of being in Bihar and witnessing what is happening doesn't feel totally authentic. Second half needed to be tighter and editing definitely could have been better. Writing needed to be even, there are some dialogues that seem out of place. Also the climax doesn't do real justice to the dramatic build up leading to that point. 

What to do: While the premise is interesting, the film could have been a better experience with some more focus on the writing and editing.