‘HER-Chapter 1’ movie review: Captivating cop story

“HER Chapter 1” has generated interest among the viewers with its interesting promotional content. Ruhani Sharma starrer has her in the lead role where she plays a cop. Suresh Productions came on board to release the film in Telugu states. The film is released in theatres worldwide on July 21.

Story

ACP Archana Prasad (Ruhani Sharma), loses a loved one in a shootout and is suspended after an internal inquiry. A twin murder of Swathi and Vishal takes place. Archana joins to investigate the case. How the case connects to her past and how did she overcame obstacles in her way is the main crux of the story.

Analysis

“HER Chapter 1,” a police procedural drama, is as concise as it can get. The film's sole aim is to trace the culprit behind a twin murder and how far a cop goes to solve it. There's no scope for isms or window to explore the psyche of the cop or the criminal on a deeper level. It's absolutely a genre piece and is only concerned about suspects, clues, motives, footage that lead her to answers.

Although the film doesn't get into a 'hero versus villain' terrain, it establishes what's right and what's not - there are no greys in this world. Impressively enough for a female-led film, the film views its pivotal character solely as a professional and doesn't let the gender debate affect the proceedings. Except for an instance or two, exaggeration is non-existent and the male characters aren't emasculated either. Every detail pertaining to the crime and the investigation is meticulously documented and elaborated.

On a whole, “Her Chapter 1” is a sensible, well-made plot-driven thriller ably supported by its technical team. The actors are only used as a tool to tell the story and it is quite focused.

Performances

Ruhani Sharma exudes confidence in the cop role. She is perfect in her role showcasing emotions perfectly. Her body language and expressions are tuned according to the cop’s role. She showed maturity as an actor in this film.

Vikas Vasishta did well in a limited-scope role. Vinod Varma makes his presence felt while Jeevan’s satirical one-liners provide comic relief. Sanjay Swaroop, Padmaja, Ravi Varma, Ravi Prakash, Pradeep Rudra are adequate in their roles.

Technicalities

Director Sreedhar Swaraghav has taken a standard plot but made it more interesting with his treatment. The detailing of the crime and the investigation is meticulously portrayed. The mind games are impressive. Though some backstories needed more drama and feels off the track from the main story, the movie runs on an interesting note.

Pavan’s BGM and Vishnu Besi’s cinematography enhances the tension in the film which is very much needed in this genre. Production values are good and Producers ensured a quality output.

Advantages

Ruhani Sharma

Gripping Screenplay

BGM

Cinematography

Drawbacks

Lacks impact in backstories