Setters (2019) Reviews

• A STRAIGHT FORWARD TAKE ON TRENDING SCAM...

  SAMTHEBESTEST2019-05-03

  We have seen plenty of films based on Scams having multiple stories included, and getting slightly away from the main content. Only few of them were stucked to the content and there also screenplay had some extra filmy material. Setters doesn't have it, not a rare case but one of the rare. Setters is a straight forward take on trending issue of setting it in Government Competitive exams and therefore much needed subject finds it's way on the silver screen. It lacks the top class film-making but is surely a decent and watchable attempt. Having many twists and turnarounds, the script should not be revealed to spoil the fun but a brief can be told as, it's a tom and jerry stuff between Setters and Cops. Shreyas Talpade plays a negative character Apurva and the characterisation by the writer is smartly done job. Aftab Shivdasani is honest as honest cop Aditya. Others such as Pavan Malhotra, Vijay Raaz, Sonnalli Seygall, Jameel Khan, Ishita Dutt and rest of the cast members are composed and discliplined to thier characters. Setters has some good writing skills and the screenplay is well planned, not well executed though. Kartootien is the only song in the film and that is not useless. When most of the useless songs spoils the tempo in thriller films, this one is that rare situational theme song which doesn't scramble the content. Ashwini Chaudhary as director handled the subject sensibily but he lacked that wow moments from the writer itself. Will it be fair to blame him then? At least he didn't walk on a commercial film-making path, must thank him for that. Government Competitive exams are deathless and so does the scams are ageless, it will just get better day by day as the technology is never ending. So the film-making on it must be updated, we might have to cross the boundaries of limited vision in coming days but for now just be happy with a decent attempt. Setters, overall is a well planned watchable thriller and a straight forward pinch on a realistic subject without losing time in typical filmy masala. RATING- 5/10*

• Solid writing would have saved the film BUT fails.

  Tejas_Vinda_AITS2019-05-03

  The film follows the cat and mouse game between friends-turned-enemy. Cop Aditya (Aftab Shivdasani) and a 'setter' Apurva (Shreyas Talpade), who heads exam leaking activities in north India. Director Ashwini Chaudhary focusses on the cop and criminal chase more than the scams that occur in our educational system. The film hopes to recreate the tension you witnessed in films like Special 26 or Baby. Unfortunately, it fails. Shot across Jaipur, Varanasi and Delhi, Setters captures the smells and sounds of our cities and towns well. But What doesn't work is the film's inability to evoke tension. A thriller tht falls flat and thus feels never ending. Solid writing would have saved the film that has potential to be gripping....but fails.

• Glamorizing a social evil, decimating the ill effects it has on the nations

  msunando2019-05-11

  Setters - Setters is about a framework of criminals that either leaks question papers of competitive exams, or ensures proxy candidates to replace weak students to take such exams. It is also about digital transformation of the infrastructure to ensure seamless and superlative customer journeys so that the frontline experience is rich and rewarding, no matter how the back-end engine room manages to achieve the same. This must make you wonder if it's a paragraph meant for some mumbo-jumbo about banking. Not really, Setters tells us that it's the same wave of technological progress that is transcending all industries, with the single minded objective of enhancing revenues, not just Fintech & Banking. Coming back to Setters, it's the cat and mouse chase between the criminals and the police that builds up a frantic and exciting first half and then replaying the same concept twice, poor script and editing in the second half deflates the tempo and conclusion. Shreyas Talpade is impressive nevertheless, and Aftab Shivdasani is all brawn and deadpan serious. Pawan Malhotra is meant to be the villain, either using cliched dialogues or grimacing, but suffers from a poorly written role. No one else in the otherwise talented cast has anything special to offer. Setters may be factual where the criminals are always a step ahead of the law, but the film depicts a rather contrived plotline to expose the serious business. It fails to drive home the point that this framework deprives the deserving candidates from qualifying by ensuring that mediocre but resourceful individuals get to the top. It sadly sets a glamorous tag to the profession and makes the police look like mere spectators. 4 STARS!