The first thing that got my attention here was the title.
It is of course, from that iconic song “Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja” in 1971’s “Caravan”. I was wondering if this would be some retrospective that’s dripping in nostalgia. However, what unfolded over the next couple of hours was one heck of a roller-coaster ride!
Murder, Mayhem, and an Unhinged Robot
A company worker dies and a robot is held responsible. Elsewhere, another group of folks are being blackmailed and extorted. They come together to plot a perfect murder, but the wrong person ends up dead instead. That’s where the cat and mouse game begins as the hunters becomes the hunted, always looking over their shoulder, even as the number of dead bodies keeps increasing.
This is a neo-noir murder mystery with corporate greed, soaring ambition, blackmail, extortion, internal politics, and betrayal at its core. People who want something badly enough end up making terrible choices in order to finally get it.
It’s an Indianised adaptation of Burutasu No Shinzou (Heart of Brutus), by Keigo Higashino. Vasan Bala does a fine job steering the ship with the frantic, gleeful energy of a mad scientist. He pays homage to the 1970s as well as films like “Johnny Gaddar” with those witty dialogues, cultural references, sudden twists, and apt musical scores as he leads us from one mystery to the next. Basically, its like Tarantino meets Vijay Anand.
I liked the overall tone. Not too serious, just enough humour, and tantalising enough to keep you hooked on till the end, with that open-ended climax.
Performances hit the mark
Rajkummar Rao has just the right kind of expressions needed for this role; anxiety, occasional confidence, sincerity, fear, despair, ambition, panic, all rolled into one.
Huma Qureshi is on a roll here as Monica Machado, the title character. Equal parts charming as the femme fatale, equal parts ruthless and calculating.
For me, Radhika Apte was the surprise package here. She plays an eccentric cop with a quirky and playful sense of humour that masks a sharp mind.
Performances by the supporting cast are good. While Sikander Kher is underutilised, I didn’t recognise Vijay Kenkre initially.
Soundtrack
The lyrics are by Varun Grover, and music by Achint Thakkar. He seems to have a penchant for these retro tracks, having previously composed the popular title theme of the web series “Scam 1992”.
The soundtrack and background score here is racy, pacy, and foot-tapping, right from the opening song, “Yeh Ek Zindagi” by Anupama Chakraborty Shrivastava. The retro aesthetic gives the soundtrack and the entire film its cheeky, and at times, unhinged personality.
What Could’ve Been Better?
The screenplay has its own personality, with wordplay, eccentric characters, and situations bordering on absurdity at times. The humour is also enjoyable because it’s often subtle and not in-your-face.
However, that’s where it stumbles a bit, and becomes too clever for itself, adding unnecessary flourishes. What begins as a strength becomes its weakness; there is just too much going on all the time, with twists, explanations, plots, and complications galore.
The film is set in Pune, but barring the occasional remark or reference, the essence of the city doesn’t really come through much. It could’ve been set in any other city.
There is also some stereotyping of characters here (think “Mona Darling” from the 70s). The tautness of the first half gives way and the pace slackens in the latter half. Maybe a tighter edit could’ve trimmed it by 20-30 minutes.
Worth a watch?
Minor issues aside, it is a fun and delightfully wild crime thriller that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Definitely a must-watch!
