‘Setters’ movie reveals the tricks and trade secrets of the cheaters, who have been deceiving the Indian Government since the inception of competitive exams. It brought back memories of when I was appearing for competitive exams myself; even I received similar offers but didn’t believe them. Thanks to the movie, now I know that ‘setting’ does exist, and how the entire ring is operated.
Directed by – Ashwini Chaudhry
Produced by – Vikash Mani, Narendra Hirawat
Story by – Siraj Ahmed
Screenplay – Ashwini Chaudhry, Vikash Mani
Starring – Shreyas Talpade, Aftab Shivdasani, Sonnalli Seygall, Vijay Raaz, Ishita Dutta, Pavan Malhotra, Jameel Khan, Pankaj Jha
Music by – Salim Sulaiman
Cinematography by – Santosh Thundiyil
Edited by – Rameshwar S. Bhagat
Production company – Lovely Films Production House (P) Ltd., NH Studioz LLP
Distributed by – NH Studioz
Plot: The movie is a Hindi crime thriller, based on a set of people who live in Varanasi a.k.a ‘Banaras’. The movie depicts a gang and its mechanism, whose main profession is to fix competitive exams, by hook or by crook. These ‘Setters’ or cheaters then get chased by a Special Investigation Team set up just to nab them.
Movie Review: The movie revolves around a set of people who fix or leak the papers of competitive exams in India. Shreyas Talpade is the main protagonist in the movie. He has impressed us after a long time with his acting skills. After delivering hits like ‘Iqbal’ and a long lull, Shreyas has given a strong performance in this movie. Aftab Shivdasani is hopeless, gives a lacklustre performance, and literally pulls the movie down. The movie could have been better, had it not been for Aftab. The script is strong and has the potential to deliver, but sadly due to Aftab it does not live upto its promise. Pavan Malhotra, the power house has given an astounding performance. He plays a proper paan-chewing-banarsi who is shrewd, violent and desi to the core. The movie has a strong beginning but loses the charm somewhere along the way because of the dullness of its characters. The side characters are played by heavyweights like Vijay Raaz, Pankaj Jha, Zeeshan Quadri, Manu Rishi and Sonnalli Seygall. They do lend some weight to the storyline but their potential has not been utilized to the full extent.
The movie has a great script, but then it is not carried to its logical end. The music score has just one song from Raftaar which is gripping enough. The locations used to depict Varanasi are authentic enough and have been utilized smartly.
Our Verdict: The movie has an interesting story to tell, but the actors fail to live up-to the expectations. There have been recent scams like ‘VYAPAM’ which have shocked us all. The movie highlights a major issue with our education system due to which we all suffer. If you have spare money/ time this weekend and have nothing better to do, then go and watch this movie. There is nothing wrong with the movie though, but I would prefer to wait out for this one to come on TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.
