Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Graphic violence, strong language in Bollywood noir action.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Kuttey
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In KUTTEY, Gopal (Arjun Kapoor) and Paaji (Kumud Mishra) are two corrupt undercover cops working for a drug kingpin. After taking out a rival drug kingpin and everyone else at a pool party, Gopal and Paaji stumble upon two bags filled with drugs that are worth more money than the money the kingpin paid them to shoot up the pool party and kill the rival kingpin. However, Gopal and Paaji's superior at the police station suspects that they're up to no good and suspends them without pay, and Gopal is in trouble with the drug kingpin. Shortly after, they meet up with Pammi (Tabu), a higher-ranking police officer who is getting drunk in the back of a police van with her colleagues. Pammi offers to reinstate the pair if they pay her off, and then points out a nearby bank van loaded with money, and tells them how easy it would be to rob it once it gets into the isolated jungles outside of Mumbai. Gopal and Paaji hatch a plan to rob the bank van. However, their scheme doesn't go as planned, and soon enough, two other groups come across the bank van. Now all of them must fight to see who can emerge with the money in the end.
Is It Any Good?
This is a Bollywood take on the noir thrillers defined by Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie that is enjoyable enough, if derivative and chaotic. Kuttey (Dogs in Hindi) is told in chapter form as it centers on three gangs of people competing to rob a bank van of its money -- two corrupt undercover cops, the daughter of a drug kingpin and her lover, a henchman of her father's, and the superior officers of the undercover cops. Oh, and there are also communist guerillas.
It's entertaining despite all the cliches of hardboiled dialogue (the retelling of the "Frog and Scorpion" folktale is particularly excruciating), extreme gratuitous violence, and the inevitable scenes of every single character having a weapon and pointing them at each other. With all the death at the beginning and throughout the movie, it's easy enough to guess how all this is going to play out, but the strong acting and capable directing (despite the overuse of "foreboding" background music) keeps it engaging enough for mature audiences.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about noir action movies like Kuttey. How is this similar to other noir action movies, and how is it also a Bollywood take on the genre?
Was the violence necessary to the story, or was it excessive? Why?
All the characters are solely motivated by greed. With a similar goal, how are the characters developed so they stand apart from each other?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : March 24, 2023
- Cast : Arjun Kapoor , Kumud Mishra , Radhika Madan
- Director : Aasmaan Bhardwaj
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 109 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : March 30, 2023
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