‘Main Aur Charles’ is a rarity to the line of movies with serial killers. It is an excellent attempt at reconstructing a person you have definitely heard or read about. Based on the life of a real serial killer, Charles Sobhraj, the movie is a mix of fiction and non-fiction and also a depiction of a certain time in Sobhraj’s life. As an Indo-French guy who impresses women and kills them eventually, Randeep fits in the role and does a good job throughout. Though there are many interesting strands in the movie, but the strands are not woven well and you might get confused for first but with time, all the knots are slowly untied. ’ Main Aur Charles’ is a cop and criminal saga but we wish the thrills were as strong and powerful like the true notorious personality of Sobhraj. But, ‘Main Aur Charles’ portrays the actual and complete story of the Celebrity Bikini Killer Charles Shobraj so it is worth a watch!

The intriguing personality of ‘Bikini Killer’ Charles Shobhraj handed Prawaal Raman the perfect recipe to create an enticing thriller on the platter. By casting Randeep Hooda, the director-writer also ensured that he had a face as charming as Shobhraj’s. However, what he has ended up making is a confused film. Main Aur Charles offers little to the audience: Neither do you get any insight into Shobhraj’s criminal mind, nor do you get to know the motive behind the psychopath’s schemes. If there is one thing you get to see and believe - it is Shobhraj’s deftness with women. The credit goes to Hooda. If there is something else that is commendable in the film, apart from Hooda’s effortless acting, it is the subtle critique of our bureaucratic system. Richa Chaddha plays a young law student who falls for Shobhraj while Adil Hussain plays Amod Kanth. Both actors have put in their best for the characters. Main Aur Charles gains some momentum in the second half and gives us a closer look at Shobhraj, the man, but does not dig deeper into his psyche or reveals much about him. You should avoid this film at all costs: The narrative offers nothing at all and despite the good performances, badly-sketched characters leave little for the actors to do.

Randeep Hooda  is the lone spark who tries hard to showcase the charisma of Charles but even he can't do much in what's ultimately an insipid outing with a poor script. Why does Charles murder women and rob people, you ask? In Raman's point of view, it is because he is a product of a dysfunctional family, which is never seen. Case closed. Raman struggles with the screenplay which in the first ten minutes travels through three decades beginning with 1968 in Thailand and landing in Tihar jail in 1986. The crux of the story, which is plotting the escape from Tihar jail, is left for late. Adil Hussain plays a constantly irritated good cop who hates being outshined by his nemesis. The less said about Richa Chadda's gullible criminal law student the better. A colourful character is made dull in Main Aur Charles. Exactly what makes him such a babe magnet is never quite understood. This Charles has got a lot of swag, but little substance. 2.5 stars for Main Aur Charles - solely for Randeep Hooda's efforts to carry the film on his shoulders.

Audiences weaned on less demanding Hindi thrillers might find the first half of Main Aur Charles a bit of a challenge to decipher. Its pace is sluggish and the plot detailing is somewhat hazy. But that appears to be a conscious part of the film's design. The director adopts an elliptical approach to the tale and leaves a great deal to the imagination, and intelligence, of the viewer. Hooda, cast as Sobhraj, nails the look and accent of the pivotal character to absolute perfection. Hussain, in the guise of police officer Amod Kanth, leaves a lasting impression with his sustained restraint. Bollywood biopics usually tend to be horrendously bloated and overwrought. Main Aur Charles is anything but. If that isn't enough of an incentive, watch it for Randeep Hooda's alluring French drawl and Adil Hussain's sturdy presence.

The first word used to describe Charles Sobhraj in Prawaal Raman's Main Aur Charles is 'hypnotic.' We end up with a film that tells its tale with calculated intent -- coolly, cleverly, taking its time -- mirroring the dry panache of its self-assured protagonist. It is 1968 and Raman's film is all about the vibe, which he lathers on with Soderbergh-like style, intentionally keeping things loosely disjointed and flowy: This is a film that wears its shirt collars gigantic and leaves a couple of buttons open. The pacing, in fact, is a marvel, as the script -- very atypically by Hindi mainstream standards -- cuts its characters slack and moves with organic, unhurried rhythm. In a film like this, plot itself comes second to events and epiphanies, most of which may be based in fact. Fact itself is a slippery beast in a life like that of Sobhraj, with blanks mostly filled by the man himself, based on how he wanted his notoriety to spread. Not that we need it. Charles is the only ladykiller we know, and we remain fascinated. And despite the character having Mein Kampf on his shelf and showing fellow prisoners Fritz Lang's Metropolis -- "Hitler's favourite film" -- it should be remembered that the 'Charles' in his name came from a Chaplin impression he used to do back in the day. (Or, at least, that's how the story goes.)

Prawaal Raman’s bio-pic has the kind of ready-made material other filmmakers fill for: a charismatic lead character, dollops of sex and perversion, and a cat-and-mouse game between the criminal and the cop. But nothing in the film comes even close to re-creating the story of a man who intrigued and repelled at the same time, and a man who led the police force a merry dance before he was finally found, and that too, with a twist in the tale. The only thing that keeps you watching is Randeep Hooda. The film should have been riveting. But it comes off as a slapdash, confused collage of scenes involving the famous jail break in which the real life Sobhraj broke free with several prisoners. The reel representation is all jumbled surface, with very little going on underneath: What made this man tick? The film gives us no answers. Randeep Hooda has it. He needed a better film.

Prawaal Raman does a commendable job of recreating the 60s-70s. He also gets his protagonist's physicality and smugness bang on.  Working on a wafer-thin account given to him by the real-life Delhi cop, Amod Kanth, Raman still manages to infuse life (at least partly) into this film and into the life of the notorious killer. There is no logic for his action. You have simply bought into the explanation that he is a psychopath who can charm the panties off the women; so much so, they don't even notice when he is putting them down. Randeep is convincing; the uncanny physical resemblance and accent help bring Charles alive. Most of the supporting cast is good, but Adil Hussain is a notch above.