'Kartam Bhugtam' review: Vijay Raaz-starrer psychological thriller begins with a strong premise only to crashland later

Post the interval, the film ceases to be a psychological thriller and becomes a full-blown revenge drama. (Image via X)

Wildlife, gambling and astrology—what is common between these three subjects? All three of them are central themes of director Soham Shah’s films. After Ajay Devgn-starrer supernatural horror Kaal (2005) and action thriller Luck (2009), Shah’s latest Kartam Bhugtam stars Vijay Raaz and Shreyas Talpade in titular roles. Talpade is Dev Joshi, an Auckland-based NRI who visits India to recover his father’s investments and manage his assets. Assisting him in this tedious task is his friend Gaurav.

It is via Gaurav that Dev meets Anna (Vijay Raaz), an astrologer whose predictions end up being true, often down to the last detail. Anna’s prediction that Gaurav will go overseas and work as a chef comes true. Meanwhile Dev suffers as his short India trip extends beyond 45 days due to logistical challenges. Anna offers Dev remedies that can get him out of his trouble.

Up until this point, Kartam Bhugtam is just the perfect psychological thriller. One expects that in the next hour, Shah will make pertinent points on how astrology is used by Indians, most of whom are running on survival mode and going through multiple crises at a time, as means to seek solutions to some of their troubles. If this theme was fully explored, Kartam Bhugtam would have struck a chord with many Indians whose over-reliance on astrology and remedies often makes them feel stuck.

We do see Shah touch on some of this though Dev’s bizarre antics—particularly the one where he looks for a specific colour while shopping for a t-shirt or compels the bank executive to give him an account number where the total is equal to a magic number. Of course, all of this goes to show how the human psyche works. In times of desperation, no matter how irrational an astrological remedy may be, one wouldn’t mind trying it.

Unfortunately, none of these motifs are explored to their full potential. Post the interval, the film ceases to be a psychological thriller and becomes a full-blown revenge drama where Dev, who was apparently suffering from an episode of schizophrenia, is seeking revenge on a group of people who tried to sabotage him financially.

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The sudden shift in the plot and unexpected change in genre is baffling to say the least, more so because this revenge drama rests solely on a string of coincidences and convenient plot devices. Even after a willing suspension of disbelief, the possibility of something like this happening seems far-fetched.

While there is nothing wrong with films blindsiding the viewers and hiding a few tricks up their sleeve, the genre-bending twist in Kartam Bhugtam leaves much to be desired. What seemed like a relatable first half is now a far-fetched second half which is difficult to digest. The critic in me was left wondering of the what-ifs and the what-could-have-beens, had the film stuck to its central theme.

Both Raaz and Talpade are sincere in playing their roles—the former as a menacing astrologer whose ominous warnings send shivers down the spine and the latter as a gullible NRI who is too caught up in his troubles to make sense of what he is doing—but they can’t salvage the film.

Kartam Bhugtam is apparently meant to be a tale of lies and deceit. On some level the viewers, too, feel that they are victims of this deceit—they were promised astrology and occult but were served a revenge story. If you are expecting a nuanced portrayal of truth-seeking via astrology and its psychological impact, you might just want to give this one a pass.

Kartam Bhugtam is now playing in theaters.