Umesh Shukla, best known for Oh My God, returns with Ek Chatur Naar, a dark-comedy thriller that borrows its title from the iconic Padosan song but spins it into something layered and contemporary. At its core, the film isn’t simply about a ‘clever woman’. It is a study of how wit, ambition and circumstance collide in the cramped yet restless world of small-town India.
The story revolves around Mamta (Divya Khosla Kumar), a young single mother living with her son and domineering mother-in-law in a locked house. From the outside she appears fragile and submissive, but beneath her quiet exterior lies a sharpness and instinct for survival. Her path crosses with Abhishek (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a corporate manipulator who makes his living by diverting government funds to politicians while pocketing his own share. Their lives intersect dramatically when Abhishek loses his phone on the Metro. Mamta, who works at the station, notices someone picking it up and follows the suspect. For Abhishek, the missing device is more than just a phone—it carries secrets that could blow apart his carefully managed double dealings and more! What follows is a cat-and-mouse chase, unfolding with irony and tongue-in-cheek humour, as Shukla carefully structures the narrative around cycles of buildup and reveal.
As the film progresses, the layers peel back, with Mamta and Abhishek’s dynamic chemistry shaping the tension. Their battle of wits drives the narrative forward until the climax, where the film shifts gears into full masala territory. The revelations arrive in quick succession, turning the story into a chaotic yet entertaining unraveling of secrets. Shukla balances thrills with humour, though unlike his earlier socially conscious cinema, this work leans more on mood, irony and character quirks than on overt messaging.
Divya Khosla Kumar surprises with her turn as Mamta, managing to balance vulnerability with sly calculation. The fragility of her appearance contrasts smartly with the cunning beneath, and it keeps the audience guessing. Neil Nitin Mukesh is well cast as her foil—smooth, unpredictable and occasionally vulnerable, a performance that marks a welcome return to form. Together, their chemistry provides the film’s most compelling moments. Among the supporting cast, Chhaya Kadam delivers as the hard-edged mother-in-law, Sushant Singh is convincing as Inspector Triloki, and Zakir Hussain inhabits the role of a corrupt politician with his usual ease. While some of these characters feel underused, their presence nonetheless enriches the town’s grimly comic ecosystem.
On the technical side, cinematographer Sameer Arya frames small-town life with striking contradictions—narrow alleys that feel suffocating set against landscapes that seem eerily empty. Mayur Hardas’s editing largely keeps the story moving, though a few sequences linger longer than necessary. Amar Mohile’s background score is effective in amplifying the tension, without overwhelming the narrative.
The film is not without its flaws. Some of the secondary characters could have been fleshed out more fully, and the pacing slackens in the middle stretch. The humour, too, sometimes overstays its welcome, and the satire never quite reaches the sharp edge that one expects from Shukla. Yet the film has its undeniable strengths: the engaging interplay between its leads, the authenticity of its small-town detailing, and the director’s ability to balance suspense with comedy in a way that keeps the viewer engaged.
Ek Chatur Naar is not a comedy built on loud punchlines but one that relies on sly grins, situational irony and the absurdities of everyday ambition. Shukla’s experiment with tone and genre may not land every blow, but it manages to carve out a distinct place in mainstream Hindi cinema. What ultimately makes the film memorable are the performances, particularly Divya Khosla Kumar’s unexpectedly sharp turn as Mamta, alongside Neil Nitin Mukesh’s steady return to form.
