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Gulf News
  • 8 months ago
The continuity and momentum of this intriguing murder mystery, laced with deception and double crossing, was retained to a large extent with that master stroke.
Transcript
00:00I've just been to watch the murder mystery and the whodunit
00:03Badla starring Amitabh Bachchan and Tapsee Pannu.
00:11From the very outset they said there won't be any snack breaks
00:14so it's going to play at a stretch, which was a smart move
00:17because a thriller requires us to be invested in what's happening on the screen
00:22without breaking the momentum.
00:24So I guess I think it's a masterstroke by Sujay Ghosh.
00:27When it comes to performances, I think it's Tapsee Pannu
00:30who stole the show right from veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan's nose.
00:34And I say this with great respect to the legendary actor
00:37but when it comes to us rooting for a murder suspect
00:41then you have to ensure that the person brings her A-game into it.
00:46I have to say that Tapsee does a great job in her role as a prime accused in a murder trial.
00:52The story goes thus, there is Tapsee Pannu who lives in Glasgow.
00:56She's a self-made businesswoman and she's one of those women who's very aggressive
01:00who is very motivated and is a go-getter.
01:03Though her career is going great guns, her personal life isn't doing so well
01:07so she's involved in an extramarital affair
01:10and it so happens that the lover gets murdered
01:14and she's the prime accused because it happens in a hotel room where they both are staying
01:19and she's convinced that there was a guest who had murdered the lover.
01:23So this is a movie that is based on a Spanish film called The Invisible Guest.
01:28I haven't seen the original so I won't be able to do a compare
01:30but what I can tell you is that director Sujoy Ghosh has done a fabulous job of keeping us invested.
01:38Does it keep you guessing? It does.
01:40It's a murky tale of lies, deceit, double-crossing, betrayal.
01:45There's a lot packed in it but there's a lot fun to be had as well.
01:49And one of the best parts about this film is that both Amitabh Bachchan
01:53and Taapsee Pannu have this easy camera adre
01:56and their banter seems very organic.
01:58I have to say that even actress Amrita Singh has done a fabulous job.
02:03She plays these conflict-ridden characters in this whodunit.
02:07This is an example of a well-cast film.
02:09Taapsee Pannu who's riding high after the success of Manmarzia
02:13and movies like Pink with Amitabh Bachchan continues to be on a roll here.
02:17Another thing that I love about this movie is that it's one of the rare Bollywood films
02:21which is melodrama-free.
02:23In the early scenes itself, I remember Amitabh Bachchan telling his client
02:27that I don't want to hear your emotional turmoil that happened with your affair.
02:30All I want to know are facts.
02:32So I must say that this entire movie is very clinical in the post-mortem of the murder
02:37and the events leading up to the murder.
02:39For the first 60 minutes, you're hooked on to the drama that's unfurling in front of you
02:44but after that you might find yourself fidgeting in your seat
02:48because you're wondering where this is all leading up to.
02:50And also this banter which is really interesting at first which is melodrama-free
02:55gets a bit repetitive and you're wondering where it's going.
02:58That shouldn't be a deal-breaker because this is one of the whodunits
03:01which is done intelligently and it's also a taut thriller.
03:04So in terms of performances, I think the lead players have done a fantastic job.
03:09Another thing about Amitabh Bachchan is that at every point,
03:13he plays this snide, snarky yet very dignified lawyer
03:17who's very world-weary, cynical at the same time.
03:20He brings a certain kind of gravitas into the film.
03:23At no point do you forget that it is a legendary actor in front of you
03:26but still he makes for a very interesting watch.
03:30To watch both Badal Gupta and Tapsee Pannu's character Naina Sethi
03:35spar it out and battle out their fears and what happened on the night of the murder
03:41is quite interesting.
03:43I've gone with 3.5 out of 5.
03:45For my full review, go to gulfnews.com slash tabloid.
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