'Chef Chidambara' movie review: Paisa vasool, engaging dark comedy

Director M Anand Raj packs in elements of crime, suspense and thriller in this one hour and 45-minute dark comedy, loosely based on an incident in Sri Lanka. 

A chef, Chidambara (Aniruddha Jatkar) is in a financial crisis involving a seaside property. Chidambara’s girlfriend (Rachel David) is an entrepreneur. Mona (Nidhi Subbaiah) is married to an elderly businessman. She is involved in an affair with a married young man, who is blackmailing her for money. There is an underworld don (Shivamani) whose mobile phone stored with his ‘top secret’ gets stolen. There is a mechanic who uses illegal means to run his workshop. We also have a corrupt cop (Sharath Lohitashwa).

Each one needs money to overcome the crisis in their life or realise their dream. A murder brings them under one platform. Do they overcome problems? This forms the crux of the story. The pace is mostly balanced. The first half introduces characters and sets the tone for an interesting journey. The second half keeps up the momentum for an unexpected climax.

There are flaws. The disposal of a body is unconvincing. A song and two fights are forced. Some scenes in front of actor Vishnuvardhan’s bust have been stuffed perhaps to please his fans. Why the film is called ‘Chef Chidambara’, there is no justification.

Aniruddha is convincing as a helpless man. Rachel is a perfect match for him but Nidhi, who is back after a break, disappoints. Shivamani evokes laughter. Sharath steals the show. 

If keeping the audience engaged until the climax without logic is a metric of success, then Raj’s thriller is a success.