A Bold Solo Thriller That Soars High but Crashes at the Finish Line
Bollywood isn’t exactly known for minimalism, so when a film like Crazxy—released on February 28, 2025—ditches the song-and-dance routine for a taut, one-man thriller, it’s a gamble worth noticing. Directed by debutant Girish Kohli and produced by and starring Sohum Shah, this Hindi-language psychological rollercoaster clocks in at a lean 93 minutes, keeping you strapped in for a wild ride—mostly. Shah plays Dr. Abhimanyu Sood, a surgeon racing against time to save his kidnapped daughter, all while wrestling with a malpractice lawsuit and his own moral wreckage. With a supporting cast reduced to disembodied voices (Nimisha Sajayan, Shilpa Shukla, Piyush Mishra, Tinnu Anand), Crazxy hinges on Shah’s shoulders and a claustrophobic car setting. Does it deliver the knockout punch it promises? Let’s unpack this crazxy journey.
A High-Octane Start That Hooks You
From the jump, Crazxy grabs you by the collar. Abhimanyu, a prickly surgeon with a duffel bag of ₹5 crore, peels out of a Delhi parking lot to settle a negligence case. Then, a call shatters his plans: his estranged daughter, Vedica (Unnati Surana), born with Down syndrome and abandoned by him years ago, has been kidnapped. The ransom? The exact cash he’s carrying. It’s a setup dripping with tension, and Kohli wastes no time revving up the stakes. Shah’s Abhimanyu is a mess—arrogant, guilt-ridden, and volatile—chasing a biker in the opening minutes just to flip him off. You’re hooked, wondering how this flawed man will unravel.
The first half is a masterstroke of pacing and craft. Shot almost entirely inside Abhimanyu’s Range Rover, the film turns the car into a pressure cooker of emotion and suspense. Sunil Borkar and Kuldeep Mamania’s cinematography keeps it kinetic—close-ups of Shah’s sweat-beaded face, dashboard reflections, the blur of Delhi’s outskirts—while Jesper Kyd’s eerie score ratchets up the dread. The gimmick of no on-screen co-stars works brilliantly here; voices crackling through the phone—Sajayan’s wounded ex-wife, Shukla’s suspicious lover, Anand’s gravelly kidnapper—paint a vivid world beyond the windshield. Shah carries it all, his intensity palpable as he toggles between panic and calculation. A mid-film highlight—the tire-changing scene where he juggles a video surgery and a ransom call—is pure cinema, leaving your nerves jangling.
A Second Half That Loses Traction
Post-interval, Crazxy shifts gears, and not always smoothly. The plot thickens—Abhimanyu’s past, his daughter’s condition, and a web of mistrust—but the momentum wobbles. The tire scene’s adrenaline peak gives way to a slower unraveling, with the screenplay leaning on contrivances. Why does the kidnapper know his exact cash stash? Is his ex-wife or lover involved? The twists, meant to dazzle, start feeling predictable, and the film’s tight grip loosens. Online chatter reflects this: fans laud the “mind-bending” build-up, but many—like me—find the third act a letdown. The revelation of the kidnapper’s identity and motive aims for emotional heft but lands in melodrama, a “mawkish puddle” that dilutes the visceral edge.
The climax is the real roadblock. After 80 minutes of breakneck suspense, it opts for a tidy, heartstring-tugging resolution that feels bolted on. Abhimanyu’s redemption—tied to a social message about accepting children with disabilities—has noble intent but lacks the punch to stick the landing. Critics note the shift from thriller to soap opera feels jarring, and I agree; a bolder, more ambiguous end could’ve cemented Crazxy as a genre game-changer. Instead, it coasts to a stop, leaving you impressed but unsatisfied.
Shah’s Solo Show and Technical Triumphs
Sohum Shah is the film’s beating heart. Fresh off Tumbbad’s re-release hype, he proves he’s Bollywood’s risk-taker supreme. Abhimanyu is a tour de force—abrasive one minute, broken the next—and Shah nails every beat. His physicality—clenched fists, wild eyes—sells the chaos, especially in that tire sequence, a masterclass in one-man tension. The voice cast shines too: Anand’s baritone chills, Sajayan’s pleas pierce, and Shukla’s barbs sting. Unnati Surana’s brief role as Vedica leaves a mark, her innocence a quiet counterpoint to the madness.
Technically, Crazxy is a flex. The editing (Sanyukta Kaza, Rythem Lath) keeps it zippy, while the sound design—phone static, revving engines—amps the immersion. Vishal Bhardwaj’s recreations of “Goli Maar Bheje Mein” and “Abhimanyu Chakravyuh Mein” nod to Bollywood’s past with flair, though some find the score overbearing. It’s a slick package, though the CGI in later scenes feels clunky, a rare misstep.
A Social Message That Resonates—Sort Of
Beneath the thrills, Crazxy tackles disability stigma and redemption. Abhimanyu’s rejection of Vedica mirrors society’s biases, and his arc aims to challenge that. It’s a worthy thread, but the execution—especially in the syrupy finale—feels more performative than profound. Still, it lingers, sparking post-credits debates about parenthood and accountability.
Verdict: A Thrilling Ride Worth Taking
Crazxy is a 3.5 out of 5 for me—a bold, breathless thriller that stumbles at the finish. Shah’s bravura turn and Kohli’s audacious vision make it a standout in Bollywood’s sea of sameness, echoing Locke or Kaun with an Indian twist. It’s not perfect—the climax disappoints, and the hype outpaces its box office pull (a modest ₹1-1.25 crore opening)—but it’s a cinematic jolt worth experiencing. Catch it in theaters for Shah’s solo magic and that tire scene’s pulse-pounding rush. Crazxy doesn’t fully crack the code, but it’s a hell of a try—and that’s crazxy enough.
