Custody movie review highlights: Naga Chaitanya's cop drama is an interesting ride so far

Director Venkat Prabhu of Maanadu fame teams up with Naga Chaitanya, Krithi Shetty and Arvind Swamy for the Telugu-Tamil bi-lingual film Custody.

Shiva (Naga Chaitanya) is a sincere police constable, the kind who will stop a CM's (Priyamani) convoy to let an ambulance pass. He has been in love with Revati (Krithi Shetty) all his life, and they want to get married soon. It causes issues at her home and his workplace. One fateful night he crosses paths with Raju (Arvind Swami), who prefers to be called Raazu, and George (Sampath Raj). His life turns upside down when his sincerity lands him in a massive conspiracy.

Custody Movie Review

The dialogues by Abburi Ravi and music by Ilaiyaraaja and Yuvan Shankar Raja aid the film well. In fact, in a scene with no dialogue, just music is employed to showcase rising tension which works well. SR Kathir's cinematography is pretty interesting and sets the tone too. There's an interesting fight scene in a police station, and the camerawork there is stellar.

The first half of the film initially takes its time establishing Shiva's world. We're treated to two songs and ample scenes that establish his life in the 90s. But once Raju enters the fold, things get so racy there's almost no time to think. The story is not completely unique; however, it doesn't matter. With the interval making it clear that Shiva has 24 hours to accomplish something big, it remains to be seen if the second half will fare.