Cast: Pankaj Tripathi, Sanjana Sanghi, Parvathy T, Jaya Ahsan, Dilip Shankar, Paresh Pahuja, Varun Buddhadev

Director: Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury

RATING : ****

Rarely does a Ponzi scheme detective encounter a challenge as daunting as the one faced by the charming yet resolute main character in “Kadak Singh.” He’s a man haunted by a forgotten past, striving to piece together his lost memories while recovering in a hospital, aided by the stories of others.

Directed by the acclaimed Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, his third Hindi venture following “Pink” and “Lost,” the film focuses on an intermittent investigation into a chit-fund scam that has devastated numerous lower middle-class families. The narrative resembles an incomplete puzzle, missing several crucial pieces.

What sets “Kadak Singh” apart is not the common tale of vanished millions or its presentation, but the delicate mental state of its lead investigator. This element distinguishes the film from typical detective stories. However, don’t expect “Kadak Singh” to be a fast-paced thriller; it’s more of a methodical unraveling that engages but doesn’t overwhelm the senses.

Kadak Singh, streaming on Zee5Global, moves back and forth in time and space. It gives the impression of being repetitive and circuitous. A set of people who have seen the man up close – his daughter, a couple of colleagues, and a friend – provide their individual perceptions of the protagonist, Arun Kumar (AK) Srivastava (Pankaj Tripathi) AK, an officer with the Kolkata unit of a financial crime investigation agency, has been diagnosed with retrograde amnesia.

He is unable to recognize people around him or recollect the details of the probe that he was spearheading. The delicate state of his mind is a result of neurological damage caused by an alleged suicide attempt. But what exactly happened on the day that AK was wheeled into a hospital is shrouded in mystery. He remembers nothing. AK is in the capable hands of the hospital’s hawk-eyed, chatty head nurse Miss Kannan (Parvathy Thiruvothu), the only person in his immediate circle he now recognizes because she is part of his current reality. Everybody else has receded to the background.

As the widower’s daughter, his boss, a trusted younger co-worker, and a woman he is in a steady relationship with visit his ward one by one – he has no idea anymore who they are. He, however, falls back on the ‘stories’ that they narrate to try and figure out who he is and how he has ended up in a hospital.

At the start of “Kadak Singh,” AK enters a dingy suburban hotel, accompanied by a younger woman. Inside, he unexpectedly encounters a girl (Sanjana Sanghi), who is shocked upon seeing him and hastily exits the building. AK follows her out, initiating a mysterious chase.

The scene shifts to AK’s hospital bed, where he’s visited by the same girl from the hotel. She introduces herself as his daughter, Sakshi, but AK, confused, insists he only has a five-year-old son. Sakshi corrects him, revealing that he does have a son who is now a teenager and tries to refresh his memory, asserting she is his biological daughter. She explains the origin of his nickname, ‘Kadak Singh,’ a testament to his exacting and perfectionist parenting style.

A series of visits unfolds, each adding pieces to the puzzle of AK’s past. Naina (Jaya Ahsan), a woman Arun has loved, possibly before his wife’s tragic death – an incident his children blame him for – is the next to visit. Her memories offer insights into a past AK has completely forgotten.

Following her, AK’s boss, Jitender Tyagi (Dilip Shankar), and a close colleague, Arjun (Paresh Pahuja), whom AK’s children affectionately call “asli beta,” visit. Their narratives help clarify events leading up to AK’s urgent hospitalization.

“Kadak Singh” weaves elements of family drama, white-collar crime, and thriller, though it doesn’t deliver the high-octane excitement typical of edge-of-the-seat thrillers. However, the film does offer engaging moments, largely due to Pankaj Tripathi’s nuanced, albeit subdued, performance.

The enigma surrounding AK’s admission to the hospital is intricately tied to his peculiar and elusive behavior, sparking curiosity about what lies beneath the surface. The secrets hidden within his lost memories are key to navigating the complex labyrinth his life has become following the unexpected events.

Despite its understated approach, “Kadak Singh” occasionally bursts into vibrancy, propelled by the complexities of the case AK was unraveling before his memory lapse.

The film intriguingly explores the themes of memory and identity, piecing together fragmented memories that gradually form a complete picture. Pankaj Tripathi, in his role, remains within his familiar range but effectively anchors the narrative. The supporting cast, including Jaya Ahsan, Sanjana Sanghi, Dilip Shankar, and Paresh Pahuja, play vital but primarily reactive roles, constrained within both the physical and imaginative confines of the story.

Kadak Singh Streams on Zee5 Global.