HASEEN DILLRUBA (2021)
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| Critic - No. 222 |
Director: Vinil Mathew
Written by: Kanika Dhillon
Produced by: Colour Yellow Productions, T-Series, Eros International
Casts: Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey, Harshvardhan Rane, Aditya Srivastava, Yamini Das, Daya Shankar Pandey, Ashish Verma
Language: Hindi
Genre: Crime, Mystery, Romance
Music: Amit Trivedi, Amar Mangrulkar
SYNOPSIS:
Under investigation as a suspect in her husband’s (Vikrant Maseey) murder, a wife (Taapsee Pannu) reveals details of their thorny marriage that seem to only further blur the truth.
REVIEW:
The film opens with a bomb blast that kills Rani’s husband that sets off an investigation against her by the police who suspects her to be involved in the murder. With intercuts of flashbacks, we see Rani’s (Taapsee Pannu) married life has much less action than the gritty crime novels she is an ardent fan of. While Rani roots for some physical intimacy and tries to seduce her quintessential husband Rishu (Vikrant Massey) they end up sleeping early at night with much awkwardness hovering over them. Though Rishu loves Rani unconditionally, they never physically click. Rani’s dry spell takes a turn when Rishu’s hunky bad boy cousin Neel (Harshvardhan Rane) comes to stay with them for a few days.
The film can be broken down into three sets of moods. The narrative kicks off with a comedic tone with the couple trying to click and then goes down into a thrilling episode of investigation which ends off with a romantic angle. However, director Vinil and writer Kanika should be commended for the looming mystery that they have sustained throughout the film. The flashbacks are well intercut to the investigation, snapping us back to the grim reality.
Rishu and Rani’s characters are extremely well etched and the lead actors have given a fine performance. Taapsee easily pulls off her layered character with pitch-perfect expressions that sustains the mystery well. Vikrant does extremely well in translating from a nerdy husband to a vengeful crack and then a passionate lover. One of the underrated actors I would say who deserves a much bigger film.
The main problem I had with the film is when it tries to gel in the mystery angle with a passionate romantic backing, unveiling many logic gaps that just sorely stick out. The story tackles multiple genres in mystery, drama, crime, romance, and writer Kanika tries to tick the conventions of every single one which eventually drags the film out as well.
The thrilling twist at the end, though nicely laced in with romantic tension, could be predicted miles away. The third act abruptly changes into a more dramatic tale that prioritizes filmy romance than the rooted crime details it set out to unveil at the start. After being engaged for three-quarters of the film by the detailed characters and the interesting crime angle that juxtaposes with the crime novel, I saw myself witnessing a sheer Bollywood film in the last 30 minutes that just wants to play with the heartstrings of the Indian audiences.
VERDICT:
Dreamy, stylistic, and whimsical, ‘Haseen Dillruba’ is a fairly engaging romantic thriller enhanced by the terrific acting of the lead performances, though it puts forward gushing emotions to blur logic at times.
CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5:
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