Setters Review: Shreyas Talpade – Aftab Shivdasani’s film is a wry take on the mammoth issue of cheating in exams across India

Star rating:

This crime-thriller produced by Vikash Mani (also the screenplay-writer along with Ashwini), and directed by Ashwini Chaudhary is releasing today. Setters was shot in Banaras, Jaipur, Mumbai and Delhi. The soundtrack album is by Salim Sulaiman and Enbee. And whilst it talks of an obviously existent racket in the country, neither does it glorify, nor criminalise the perpetrators. It just tells the story as it is.

What Setters is all about: Setters tells the inside story of cracking most public exams in India via the racket of setters, wherein proxy intelligence gives the exams whilst duds buy their brains for a price. And this whole nationwide activity is masterminded and engineered as an elaborate, massively networked and hugely money-making scam. Shreyas Talpade plays Apurva, the guy who runs this racket for Banaras Bhaiyaji (Pawan Malhotra), an excessively rich goon with rackets across the country. This don, with a penchant for tight silk kurtas and lungis, and possibly young boys, has 1) a wilful daughter Prerna (Ishita Dutta in her second release on the same day – the first being Blank), who loves Apurva, 2) a jealous sidekick – Kesariya (Pankaj Jha), and 3) a eunuch to slide paan into his mouth on demand. Orders from higher-ups in Delhi, set the Banaras Police on alert, headed by the squeaky clean Superintendent of Police – Aditya (Aftab Shivdasani) also Apurva’s childhood friend, who raced past him in the IAS exams and went home with the job and the girl they both loved. Aditya creates a motley task force of system rejects with super brains and skills, comprising Sonnalli Seygall as Isha, an ace hacker and disenfranchised-by-her-bosses techie, Jameel Khan (also his second release on the same day, after Blank) as Ansari, an ex-cop with a generous taste for violence, yanked out of the prisons himself, and Anil Mange as Dibakar, an honest cop who resigns from the corrupt system before it eats him up.

Apurva’s cronies in crime are Vijay Raaz as Nizam, Jack-of-multiple-trades, mostly shady, Neeraj Sood as Bhanu, the man who runs Bhanu’s Classes and provides the endless list of duds who want to hit the merit list in the entrance exams for Railways, medical college, banking, engineering colleges and what have you at a stipulated number of lakhs per desire, and Manu Rishi as Balam, fixer of all kinds of problems and deals.

The war is on and may the best side win. But does that really happen?

Yay: Aftab Shivdasani as the SoP is great, walking the talk with enough gravitas and conviction. Moreover, he looks in great form physically as well, cutting a striking figure in uniform. Shreyas Talpade as the soft-spoken crook is immensely likeable, unfortunately. The two actors share a good chemistry even if it’s meant to be off, as ‘friends that were’. The two actresses came through well, though their parts were not so well fleshed out. The supporting cast was terrific, every last one of them. Vijay Raaz is a prince among actors. He takes the cake and the entire bakery effortlessly even in this lungi and baniyan clad, grey-haired character of Nizam.

The cinematography is very clean. Even portraying the dirtiest city of Banaras!

Nay: There’s no sense of closure because every character does not have their loose ends tied. Moreover, the twist in the end, while delightful to watch and possibly only true, may give ideas to budding scamsters. The music tracks, whilst in the background only, were too crowded with lyrics and too loud.

CineBlitz Verdict: It’s a fun watch that tickles ones intelligence. All crimes are not necessarily violent. This one takes great brains. The film is slickly executed and whilst it deals with a problem, doesn’t question moral standings or weigh heavily on right and wrong, and doesn’t burden your conscience. It’s comic in parts and it’s intelligent comedy. Definitely worth a watch!