Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Kangana Ranaut, Shahana Goswami, Boman Irani, Sarah Jane Dias, Jimmy Shergill
Producer: Excel Entertainment
Pace. Pace. Pace. Give me pace. I wanted to scream like the "give me red" ad. How can you make a whodunit without being mindful of the cadence? Don't mistake it for speed. In fact, many an actor is truly born once the difference between pace and speed is mastered. Countless beautiful films die due to the lack of that very learning. The slowest film can have a heart pulsing rhythm. But you cannot make a murder mystery, that has promised to make the audience think, at the tempo of a fragmented art house film. Game gets continually stuck in details that have no relevance to the plot. I always thought the basic rule of a crime thriller was that if there is an unduly long close up of an ashtray then somehow it must be the murder weapon.
Early in the film we are introduced to 4 characters in 4 different corners of the world, who are all at the brink of destruction. An invitation from a bona fide billionaire, Karan Malhotra (played by Anupam Kher) who offers to help each of them comes as a new lease of life. But for this they must come to his private island in Samos, Greece. What proceeds feels like a clumsy game of cluedo. In one lengthy sequence intercut with flashbacks the life of all these 4 characters is pieced together and the motive for having all of them on the island is revealed. There is not one memorable dialogue except something about twins not having twins. A murder takes place without any build up or suspense - isn't anticipation the key to keeping the audience hooked? Before you know it - it's interval. And thanks to the slow, heavy style it feels like it's taken an eternity and nothing much has happened.
Abhinay Deo, the king of the ad world, makes a tepid entry into the world of cinema. He gets bogged down with making each shot look pretty and perfect, the attention to the smallest details hinder rather than enhance the plot, and yet there are gaping holes in accuracy. A key character, we are told, tries to hang herself from a fan, except she's in London and I can't remember the last time I saw a fan in any London flat, house or building. There are chase scenes on the rooftops of Istanbul that are more reminiscent of a travel show than a thriller. The ominous background score with its heavy relentless bass only slows the film down further. Though Abhinay uses Hitchcock's famous "McGuffin" technique- where an apparently minor detail revealed casually serves as a plot pivot upon which the narrative runs - the payoff is not satisfying or clever enough.
Sarah Jane Dias lights up the screen and is good in the limited role. The others all play their part as well as they can in a suspense that plods along at a snail's pace.
