Movie Review - Trapped by Suhel Johar

Trapped is A Gripping Film That Holds Your Attention From First Frame To The Last.

 

Trapped is probably the first film since Delhi Belly (2011) to release in theatres without an interval. It is Vikramaditya Motwane's third feature film directorial venture. His first film Udaan won him a lot of acclaim as a director and the film was even selected to compete in the 'Un Certain Regard' category at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. Trapped premiered at the 18th Mumbai Film Festival in 2016 and reportedly received a standing ovation from the audience.

Trapped with Rajkummar Rao in the lead is based on an interesting subject about a man who is trapped in his own apartment.

The wafer thin plot of the film goes like this.  Shaurya secretly admires his office colleague Noorie (Geetanjali Thapa). At first shy, Shaurya takes baby steps to try and woo his lady until he finally lands up on a dinner date with her. The duo strike a chord in no time and friendship starts to turn into love. Noorie is engaged to someone else and Shaurya confesses his love for her just two days before her marriage.

Shaurya asks her to move in with him. She agrees on a condition that he finds a place for them to stay.

With a limited budget on hand Shaurya finds an 35^th floor empty flat in an isolated apartment without basic amenities like water and electricity. To make it worse for him the apartment, ironically named Swarg or Heaven, has no other members, but a partially deaf watchman.

Shaurya shifts to his new flat and accidentally locks himself inside it while the key remains outside. He needs to be evacuated from the most normal situation anyone can ever find themselves in—being at home, on any given day. How he finds ways to escape from the isolated flat is what Trapped is all about.

It’s this feeling of being lonely and left-out that makes Trapped a scary experience. Little does Shaurya know that the first day in his new home is going to be the longest of his life, and if he doesn’t get help on time then it may very well be his last?

Of course, Shaurya is a street smart person who is very rational and practical. His instincts are bang on and he has the ability to make tools out of ordinary household articles. For example, he can write help on a placard with toothpaste and throw it out of the window. Or, he can put some clothes on fire and hang them from the balcony to draw attention.

But, unfortunately for him, nothing fetches him help. He has run out of water and food, but he doesn’t want to die, not just yet. The zeal to live drives him to be more braver, but how far can enthusiasm take him?

Few scenes are disturbing but have so much intensity that they will send chills down your spine. With no water supply Shaurya is forced to drink his own urine to quench his thirst. In another scene, Shaurya a strict vegetarian is forced to kill a pigeon to eat its meat. He even eats insects and chases a rat in the flat etc.

The frustration at being trapped is rightly tapped into. Although, one does question as to why someone would move into an empty apartment and not check basic amenities like water and electricity supplies before moving in.

With Trapped, director Vikramaditya Motwane, proves yet again his craft of realistic filmmaking. He sure is in his elements after serving a dud called Lootera as his second film. Here he has made the character of Shaurya seem so convincing that you almost feel like reliving the pain of being stuck alone. 102 minutes of presentation will make you struggle alongside Shaurya in his quest for survival despite having no basic amenities in the flat. The biggest flaw in the film is the absence of a timeline and in certain cases, the story flounders a bit with its cinematic liberties.

Rajkummar Rao, gives a performance worth a standing ovation. Undoubtedly, this ranks as one of his best performances. He portrays the correct amount of earnest eagerness to get out of the flat, fighting his fear of rats and ways of seeking help by every possible means. There might be a momentary lapse in his energy levels, but he isn’t weak, not intentionally at least.

To transform into the role, Rajkummar Rao ate only carrots and coffee for the 20-day film shoot. For a sequence in the movie, Rajkummar Rao even advised the crew to use his real blood and not artificial blood to get a more realistic look.

Geetanjali Thapa looks pretty and has put in a competent performance.

Siddharth Diwan’s camera work relies mostly on natural light to create a feeling of claustrophobia. He deliberately restricts your vision and makes the outside world look like a place where everybody is on an auto-pilot mode to create that eerie feel that Shaurya faces in the apartment.

Background score by Aloknanda Dasgupta is impressive and goes well with the scenes.

Overall, Trapped is an engaging film in spite of its obvious loopholes thanks to its crisp narrative.