Chatha Pacha: The Ring of Rowdies

The cinematography by Anend C. Chandran is absolutely brilliant in places, but becomes a major let-down during the climax. Editing by Praveen Prabhakar deserves appreciation for keeping the narrative crisp. The music – featuring songs by Shankar Ehsaan Loy and a background score by Mujeeb Majeed – is effective, though nothing particularly stands out. Visually, however, the film is striking, and the art and set design departments deserve clear credit for achieving a strong aesthetic. Overall, Chatha Pacha: The Ring of Rowdies arrived with a lot of anticipation but struggles to match up to it. The promotional material largely highlighted the film’s fun, pro-wrestling-centric elements, and the makers would have benefited from leaning more into that strength. In attempting to add drama, the film ends up in an in-between space – neither wholly entertaining nor effectively dramatic – ultimately resembling a child stuck between two boats, barely holding on.

‘Chatha Pacha: The Ring of Rowdies’ may not break new narrative ground, but it works as an entertainer driven by energy, nostalgia, and visual bravado. It knows exactly what it wants to be and largely delivers on that promise. For audiences willing to surrender to its noise and nostalgia, the film offers a sweaty, chaotic, and unapologetically theatrical experience.

Did the debutant director come up with an engaging film?

Vedhika Sreekumar’s performance is excellent.

This lack of narrative clarity becomes a major hurdle, undermining the director's otherwise sincere and loyal approach to storytelling.

There are portions that are highly entertaining, followed by stretches where the narrative seems to jump all over the place.