Nithiin has said a lot about his recently released Check. He has pinned huge hopes on this film. Check is directed by critically acclaimed filmmaker Chandrasekhar Yeleti. Check set the right expectations with the promos released. The premise of Check itself is interesting. Now, let us see how the movie is.
Plot: Aditya (Nithiin) is found guilty of a terrorist attack and was sentenced to death. No lawyer comes forward to take up the case but Manasa (Rakul Preet Singh) though believes initially that Aditya is behind the attacks, takes up. She later finds out that Aditya is innocent in the case.
Aditya in the prison gets attracted to the game of Chess. With his intelligence, Aditya masters the game. The remaining story is all about how Chess plays an important role in Aditya getting freed from jail.
Performances: Nithiin has said in the recent interviews that he had to unlearn completely and start afresh for this role in Check. Well, there is some truth in that. It is one of the mature performances from Nithiin. It is refreshing to see Nithiin in a completely serious role. Rakul Preet Singh as a lawyer did justice to the role. Priya Prakash is okay.
However, it is Sai Chand who takes the major credit in this department. He played the role of Srimannarayana, chess guru to the hero did a splendid job. Sampath, Murali Sharma, Posani Krishna Murali did as usual. The rest are fine.
Technicalities: Kalyani Malik has given a superb background score for this movie. He tried to elevate every scene with his BGM work. The only song in the movie has worked out well too. The camera work by Rahul Srivastav is good. He was successful in making the audience not feeling monotonous as the majority of the film happens in a prison. Dialogues by Naresh Reddy are too good. He should be given more opportunities. Production values by Bhavya Creations are nice. They did what should be done for a film like this.
Chandrasekhar Yeleti has got a cult following in the Telugu States. Though he hasn’t got a massive blockbuster, there are few sections of the audience who just love his work. They eagerly waited for Check and unfortunately, they will not be fully satisfied. His screenplay lacks the power punch. He should have taken more care in the second half.
Analysis: The check has an interesting premise. However, the director didn’t fully capitalize on that. While the first half is engaging and the interval block sets the right tone, the second half falls flat. The twist in the climax makes up for the bland second half. The check will be an okay watch if you enter the theaters with zero expectations.
Punch Line: Not a Check-mate, just a draw.
Rating: 2/5
