Territory

Review: The movie which opens to a fascinating B-roll of picturesque Maharashtra. The enthusiasm, however, is short lived as the story takes far too long in its setup, and the payout is underwhelming.

Forest Department officer Sirtawar (Kishor Kadam) is in a tight spot as a slew of tiger related deaths brings a CBI officer (Sandeep Kulkarni) to his jurisdiction. Amid ego clashes and varied investigative methodology, both teams realise that they are up against an organised gang of poachers. The film remains raw and shows an unseen side of life in the forested heartland. Sirtawar now has to maintain a fine balance between the villagers, the central department and wildlife.

Director Sachin Shriram showcases the animal-human conflict with great nuance but fails to justify the thriller genre. Territory stumbles through the facts of the case and multiple vital plot points are conveniently introduced in an unsatisfactory manner. An inability to set stakes results in the audience feeling left out. The cinematography is lacking in multiple instances, while the music is passable. The redeeming qualities of this film are the stellar performance by Kishor Kadam and the mesmerizing shots of wildlife throughout the movie.

Territory is a fair attempt at telling a new kind of story and does tackle some unique topics. The lackluster effort in making it a viable thriller is what grounds it before it could take-off.