Bhubaneswar: The much-hyped big-budget flick ‘Challenge’ has been released across Odisha this Dusshera, hitting the silver screen in style with 150 shows across 50 theatres with on its first day.
Produced under the banner of Adilaxmi Entertainment, the film has all ingredients-family bonds, romance, action, and chartbuster songs—all rolled into one to pull crowds to theatres.
Story: Aditya (Ardhendu Sahu) loves his sister Sandhya (Lipi Mahapatra) so much so that his blood boils if anyone casts an evil eye on her. Trouble begins when Sandhya’s husband Akash (Pupinder), a fearless reporter, unmasks the dreaded JD (Puneet Issar) and his brother Daniel (Bobby Mishra). The notorious brother duo then sets their sights on destroying Akash’s family, only to find Aditya standing tall as an unshakable shield.
Review: The film opens with Akash comes across a woman in a hospital owns by JD who accuses the doctors of killing her husband for money. Akash manages to get the CCTV footage and uploads it on social media platforms, inviting the wrath of JD and Daniel. They want to teach a lesson to Akash and his family. Akash’s family means he, his pregnant wife Sandhya and his sister Sneha (Elina Samantaray).
Aditya and Sandhya are siblings raised single handedly by their mother after their father, a headmaster, took his life over false allegations of misappropriating school’s ration.
Aditya’s world begins and ends with his sister’s happiness, while his heart belongs to Sneha. He launches his biggest battle to ensure his sister’s house remain unscathed.
Whether he can protect her family from the clutches of the villainous brothers keeps the audience on tenterhooks till the climax.
It has all ingredients required for an entertaining movie. The way the sibling bond is woven in the story till the end forms the crux of the film, leaving the audiences glued to their seats. Apart from Ardhendu’s whistle-worthy high-octane action, there are well picturised songs, a dash of romance and family drama, making it a paisa-vasool entertainer tailor-made for festive viewing.
While all the actors and actresses have given justice to their characters, the performances of Ardhendu, Puneet Issar, Bobby Mishra and Lipi steal the show.
On the flip side, one thing that comes to this reviewer’s mind that the film falters slightly in its handling the police subplot. While the police arrest Aditya’s father for misappropriating school’s ration in the beginning, they are conspicuously absent in the later part despite a string of crimes take place. It would have been more appealing if the role of police had been intertwined in the story.
Since Ardhendu and Lipi hail from Berhampur, for the first time the movie’s premiere show was held in the silk City on Saturday, alongside earlier premieres in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.
The film’s cast and crew including Ardhendu, Elina, director Sai Kiran Mangaraj, cinematographer Pratap Chandra Raut, publicity and promotions head Pranaya Jethi, actors Bhupinder Singh, Lipi Mahapatra, and Bibhas were received with a grand filmy style reception with a 150-bike rally before the grand show at Rukmini Cinema Hall.
Ardhendu, who made debut with ‘A Aa Harshei’ and earlier credits like ‘Tapori’, ‘Blackmail’, ‘Mu Paradeshi Chadhei’ and ‘Villain’, seems to have struck gold this festive season.
Verdict: ‘Challenge’ proves to be an out-and-out entertainer that won’t let you doze off in your seat.
