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Custody (2023)

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‘Custody’ movie review: Venkat Prabhu’s mix of conflict and humour works for this Naga Chaitanya, Arvind Swami actioner

Director venkat prabhu’s telugu-tamil bilingual ‘custody’ is not among his best, but has plenty going for it.

May 12, 2023 03:57 pm | Updated 04:35 pm IST

Naga Chaitanya in director Venkat Prabhu’s bilingual action entertainer ‘Custody’

Custody opens with a prologue that seems like the worst nightmare anyone could have. Things spiral out of control and everything that can go wrong does. It is the late 1990s. This incident, as expected, has a bearing on the rest of the story. Writer and director Venkat Prabhu gets to that conflict point much later in the story when one least expects it. He uses it to give an emotional heft to the actions of one of the principal characters. The director’s Telugu-Tamil bilingual starring Naga Chaitanya, Arvind Swami and Krithi Shetty also has several trademark Venkat Prabhu flourishes such as peppering the narrative with humour without diluting the tense moments. These segments work to the advantage of this action entertainer and help overlook some of the rough edges.

The Telugu version of Custody unravels in Rajahmundry where police constable Shiva (Naga Chaitanya) does not think twice before stopping the chief minister’s (Priyamani as Dakshayani) convoy to make way for an ambulance. She lauds him but he is taken to task by his superior. Post this, all that happens for about half an hour is the humdrum in Shiva’s everyday life and his romance with Revathy (Krithi Shetty). This is the calm before the storm. A lot of smaller details associated with some of the characters in these portions come in handy in the action segments later. Someone’s driving skills matter and so does a mortuary van that a family uses even to commute to auspicious beginnings, unmindful of how others might perceive it.

Custody (Telugu and Tamil)

The story gathers momentum with the introduction of a criminal named Raju, or Raazu (Arvind Swami) as he prefers to be called, and CBI officer George (Sampath Raj). The chaos that occurs at the police station one night is well-staged, giving rise to a heroic moment. In most films, a chunk of the drama might have revolved around the constable, criminal and CBI officer on the run from powerful opponents. Venkat Prabhu throws humour-laden personal conflict points into the mix. Vennela Kishore as Prem (Premgi Amaren plays this part in Tamil) and Revathy come to the fore.

Raju wants to escape, Shiva wants to produce him in court and Revathy just wants to get married to Shiva. An adventurous road trip ensues. Some of the scuffles are in a realistic space before they lead into cinematic action episodes, an underwater sequence, for example, that works.

As new characters such as IG Nataraj (Sarathkumar) enter the picture, both Raju and Shiva are forced to rethink their perceptions of what is right and wrong and who is saving whom. There are clapworthy moments when the two characters play off each other. In the later portions, however, a flashback that introduces another star actor is marred by an underwhelming song sequence and a predictable emotional story.

While Custody traces the rise of the underdog Shiva, it bides its time in making the antagonist take centre stage. Arvind Swami’s character is supposed to be menacing but most of what we see is a wounded tiger. The actor makes it work. Krithi Shetty’s character oscillates between the typically chirpy heroine to someone who can measure up when needed; she delivers what is required for the part. Chaitanya gets a layered characterisation long after Sekhar Kammula’s Love Story and he portrays the vulnerability of an underdog and is convincing as an unlikely hero who has to punch above his weight. Goparaju Ramana and Ramki are given the elbow room to make their presence felt in their short screen time. 

The late 90s and early 2000s setting (production design by Rajeevan and cinematography by Kathir) also help to reference a few Ilaiyaraaja hits of that era. The maestro and his son Yuvan Shankar Raja are the composers for this film and the throwback to the older numbers works more like a charm than the new songs. The background score is also reminiscent of the era.

The narrative also doffs its hat to several older Tamil and Telugu films. Chaitanya’s character name is a definite nod to Ram Gopal Varma’s Shiva starring Nagarjuna Akkineni; there’s a hat tip to Kamal Haasan’s Vikram in the later portions and Venkat Prabhu also offers a hilarious dialogue reference to his own time-loop thriller Maanaadu . There are more, including a reference to Mani Ratnam’s Mouna Ragam .

Custody is not without its pitfalls. It wobbles when it explores a cliched emotional backstory. The romance and some of the humour surrounding it could also have been written better. But the film has a lot going for it.

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Custody Movie Review : Venkat Prabhu's Custody is partially gripping, but not watertight

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Sriram 265 days ago

Prachiagarwal 274 days ago.

Outstanding

Vinu Shankar 464 days ago

So draggy, not like a Venkat Prabhu movie at all. VP's movies are so crisp and engaging. This movie is no way close to any of his priors.

Shiva Ivaturi 468 days ago

Karthik K 468 days ago

Nava chaitanya- How on earth did u even become an actor?!

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Custody Movie Review: A Playful Venkat Prabhu Entertainer That Gets A Bit Formulaic

Director: Venkat Prabhu

Writers: Venkat Prabhu, Abburi Ravi

Cast: Naga Chaitanya, Krithi Shetty, Arvind Swamy

The most enjoyable bits of Custody emerge from its self-aware writing. The film might be set in 1998 but songs and dialogues from recent films and at one point, a hilarious reference to Vikram (2022) are planted to evoke humour. Sure, we, the audience, know that they are anachronistic elements. Even Venkat Prabhu, who wrote and directed the film, is aware of this fact. Yet, he doesn’t refrain from sprinkling this self-aware, fourth-wall-breaking humour that urges us to not take the film seriously, even if some unexpected turns indicate otherwise. But this quality is a double-edged sword. For instance, in the second half, the jump from a playful sequence to an important character’s death feels incredibly curt because Custody becomes a completely different film for a few brief moments. Although the protagonist is pushed into dire situations and the threat is omnipresent, the playful undertone of the writing blinds us from foreseeing the serious turn the film takes at this point. The sad song, crooned by Ilaiyaraaja, unfortunately, comes across as unintentionally hilarious because it sounds like it has no business being in a fun, action thriller like this. Despite such hiccups, the film retains its quirk till the very end, and this commitment is what I found the most admirable about Custody .

The premise of Custody is simple in its design. Shiva ( Naga Chaitanya ), a constable has to protect an influential hooligan named Raju ( Arvind Swamy ) from being murdered because he is the key witness in a big legal battle that’s connected to the political bigshots. Now, there are no massive surprises here and you know that the chief minister (Priyamani, in a one-note character) is orchestrating the operation while Sarathkumar's Natarajan is spearheading the manhunt. It’s an extremely successful template of an underdog battling the odds to accomplish his mission. There’s something innately ‘massy’ about such underdog stories and it’s once again proven in Custody .

What makes the film enjoyable despite the familiar plot points are its likeable characters, humour in the oddest of situations and some well-shot action set pieces. The writing is clean and gives some purpose to the characters. Shiva’s father, for instance, is the driver of a mortuary van that they borrow to transport Raju in. He gets a cool punch dialogue too. “Savalani ekkinchadam naaku naa bandi ki kotthem kaadhu (Neither my vehicle nor I are strangers to carrying dead bodies),” he warns Raju. Shiva’s love interest, Krithi Shetty’s Revathy (of course, there’s a hilarious reference to veteran actor Revathy) is a driving school teacher and this is also used at one point.

The moment when Shiva decides to save Raju’s life leads up to a cracker of an action sequence that’s stitched up to look like a single shot. And Venkat Prabhu doesn’t give Naga Chaitanya a traditional ‘mass’ elevation shot although it is a wonderful heroic moment; the heroism here emanates from the fact that Shiva is choosing to do the right thing. This trait is established right during his intro scene, where Shiva stops the CM’s convoy to let an ambulance pass through. We later learn that this is an echo of something that transpired in Shiva’s past. That brings me to a qualm I have with Custody and films in general. Why do our heroes need to be given personal motivation? Why can’t Shiva just be a sincere constable who is driven by sheer rigour and willing to put his life on the fence for the truth to prevail? Venkat Prabhu offered no personal ‘reason’ to Vinayak Mahadev for being unapologetically immoral in Mankatha (2011), neither did Abdul Khaliq have a personal motivation to save the CM in the much more inventive Maanaadu (2021). However, by giving Shiva a personal vengeance angle, the filmmaker gravitates towards the formula in Custody . Sure, Shiva’s integrity is encapsulated in his first scene, but I feel the exclusion of the backstory would have made Shiva a bigger hero.

Speaking of formula, the love story between Shiva and Revathy is harmless but doesn’t quite add much value to the film. It precipitates a song-and-dance sequence—placed dangerously close to the opening number—that plays out like a tribute to the colourful ‘90s songs. While it’s definitely not temper-testing like the love stories in some of the recent films, it does make you wonder what’s holding Venkat Prabhu back from getting into the fun part sooner. Maanaadu , for instance, had its share of lighter moments but they were all organically embedded in the set-up and the screenplay didn’t dedicate itself to these portions. Custody does the opposite. It spends a chunk of runtime to just establish the love story.

It might sound like I am complaining a lot but that’s perhaps because of the high standards set by Venkat Prabhu's inventive screenplay in Maanaadu . So naturally, when we see the director make some orthodox choices, it can be disappointing. If I have to describe Custody in terms of the filmmaker's works, it's a Biriyani -like (2013) narrative tainted by the perils of Masssu Engira Masilamani 's (2015) formula. But that doesn't mean that Custody is a lousy film. It's anything but lazy. In fact, the film brims with energy and Venkat Prabhu-isms. Take, for instance, the incredibly funny dig at the film's Tamil-Telugu bilingual format in the second half. I don't want to ruin it for you, but when you see it, you know that it's a scream and nobody other than Venkat Prabhu would have done something so quirky in an otherwise serious film. Likewise, there's a superb cameo in the second half (there are three cameos but you'll know which I'm not talking about when you see the film) by a veteran and the way Venkat Prabhu pays tribute to the actor is hilarious. 

Arvind Swamy is great as the charming devil once again and makes the film immensely watchable; he is simply delightful. And Naga Chaitanya too sells the honesty of this character convincingly. The action too, thankfully, offers respite from the nonsensical sequences we got accustomed to seeing Friday after Friday. The sequences set in the police station sequence and dam, complemented by SR Kathir's sun-burnt frames exude ambition and are executed brilliantly. But the music is underwhelming and left a lot to be desired. A lot.

Venkat Prabhu's inclination towards some formulaic elements raises suspicion whether the burden to pander to a new section of the audience compelled him to compromise on his style to an extent. However, the fact that the film draws its heroism and most of the clap-worthy moments from the writing, instead of aiming for low-hanging fruits proves that he didn't let go of his core strength. Even serious scenes are bookended by quirk and that's the beauty of the film; the Venkat Prabhu mark is evident. Custody has something that many big-budget action films lack these days: a personality.

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Custody Movie Review

Article by Suman M Published by GulteDesk --> Published on: 4:35 am, 12 May 2023

2 Hr 27 Mins   |   Action   |   12-05-2023

Cast - Naga Chaitanya, Arvind Swamy, Sarathkumar, Krithi Shetty, Priyamani, Sampath Raj

Director - Venkat Prabhu

Producer - Srinivasaa Chitturi

Banner - Srinivasaa Silver Screen

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Naga Chaitanya signed up for a full-length action movie Custody for the first time and he joined hands with Tamil director Vikram Prabhu. The trailer looked intense with Aravind Swamy, Sarath Kumar, and Priyamani as important characters. The movie was released today in theaters. Here is the review. 

What Is It About? 

An ordinary police constable Shiva (Naga Chaitanya) who is struggling to get married to his girlfriend Revathi (Krithi Shetty) gets into a big conspiracy. Shiva vows to bring a notorious criminal Raju (Aravind Swamy) to court but the whole department of his does not want him to, including the state CM Dakshayani (Priyamani). What did Raju do and why is Shiva so stubborn to bring him to justice? The answer to these questions is Custody. 

Performances

Naga Chaitanya is alright in the movie. He did fine in the action parts and that is all. Aravind Swamy did well and he engages whenever he appears in the frame. The narration is a mess and even the talented actor like Aravind Swamy could not keep the audience connected to it. Krithi Shetty is routine. Sarath Kumar is boring. Vennela Kishore brings some laughs here and there. Priyamani played a guest role and she is fine. Ramki’s character is not needed at all. Jiiva and Anandhi did fine in their roles. 

Technicalities

Except for the refreshing plotline, Custody has nothing that works. The execution is so poor that it gets more irritating as it advances. The screenplay is uneven. Too many action scenes and chases that are boasted about did not help Custody in any way. The background music doesn’t make an impact and the songs are the biggest minus for the movie. None of the songs are good, in fact, they are the biggest hurdles for the audience. 

Plotline Aravind Swamy

Thumbs Down

Narration Songs & BGM Lack of depth

Custody is one powerful title Naga Chaitanya got and also the plot line is interesting. It all falls flat with the weak narration, repeated chase scenes, and mainly the songs. Custody has a good plot of a constable’s relentless effort to bring a criminal to justice while all influential forces are standing against him on his way. For starters, the story is heavily ‘inspired’ by the Hollywood movies Safe House and Assault At Precinct 13.

First things first, the first half of Custody is mostly boring with two songs and a dead slow love track in the first half. The story appears to pick up at the pre-interval but again turns boring with the unnecessary and lengthy fights at the interval. While the story is predictable, it could still be gripping and enthralling with the emotions and conversations between the lead characters. The narrative graph goes flat with a ton of chases, and action sequences that don’t let us connect to the important characters. 

The second half also moves forward in the same tone again with more fights and chase sequences. At one point, it appears like a set of sequences coming and going one after the other, but none build the intensity in it. Many times when Sarath Kumar enters, Naga Chaitanya’s character appears completely sidelined. In yet another boring repeat, the directors brought up the bullet-raining gun episode that has been overused of late, except it looks like a cheaper version in Custody. It is not an exaggeration that a chaotic wedding song between the chase, and a predictable flashback with a bonding song literally test the patience of the audience. The love track resurfaces now and then but it looks more and more artificial towards the end. 

The director tried to maintain the curiosity behind the story of Raju’s character which is needed, but after a point, it gets boring due to the lack of its depth in the story. The suspense element of Raju should be becoming strong as the story progresses, instead, it turns stale. Apart from the poor screenplay, the dialogues also played the spoilsport. Some dialogues and scenes are directly brought from the movie Safe House. The emotional flashback of Shiva is utmost boring and his citing the reason for what he is doing contradicts his professional reasons with the personal. 

A layered story like Custody needs effective acting, good dialogues, and direction. Unfortunately, Custody has none of them. Though Aravind Swamy does his part, the lack of depth in his character cuffs his hands. Also, the love track that runs along the main story is also a culprit as it never lets the audience get acquainted with the seriousness of it. Not just that, the director’s liking for comedy barges in some scenes where it is not needed. With more of Telugu-native Tamil actors like Jiiva, Vaibhav, Aravind Swamy, and Anandhi, Custody looks like a dubbed movie in many instances. 

During an action part, Aravind Swamy gives expression of being fed up to see and fight Sarath Kumar again. The audience could relate to that expression very well. Overall, Custody is a travel of a rookie cop and a high-profile fugitive that could have had a lot of intensity and emotions but is filled with repetitive extended fights and routine narrative instead. 

Bottomline : Escape From Custody

Rating: 2.25 /5

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