Cast: Sanjay Mishra, Neena Gupta, Manav Vij, Saurabh Sachdeva
Director: Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal
Language: Hindi
Both Sanjay Mishra and Neena Gupta are on the verge of completing three decades in acting. One has been used mostly for comedic effects and the other was rendered out of work for over three years. Few filmmakers displayed a knack for courage and gave them roles they could chew with glee and marvel at the deliciousness- Mishra with Rajat Kapoor’s Aankhon Dekhi and Gupta with Amit Sharma’s Badhaai Ho.
The two veterans team up for writers-directors Jaspal Singh Sandhu and Rajeev Barnwal’s crime-drama Vadh. The title quickly takes away the shades of grey from the narrative and the characters. Katl suggests something sinful, Vadh represents virtue. This is a couple that’s grappling with impoverishment and loneliness. They have a callous son in the U.S and a hideous monster right in their backyard (Saurabh Sachdeva), always ready to haunt them to settle some unfinished business. Both Mishra and Gupta look convincingly exhausted in every form possible.
To lighten the mood, the writer-director duo adds a tinge of humor in their otherwise soulless lives. It involves a rat trap. When their own destinies get embroiled in a trap that threatens to demolish their being, the man of the house uses all his wits to protect and safeguard the family. The question of how far one would go to save what they love has been asked over and over again, from Drishyam to Aarya, and now in Vadh too. The modus-operandi of the murder is reminiscent of the recent Shraddha Walkar murder case, however, the brutality is not shown but heard, but the splashes of blood on Mishra’s face is enough for us to squirm with discomfort.
Manav Vij plays a corrupt, often comical police officer who’s hiding a dirty secret. Of course, here too, we have officers posing as clowns and unleashing jokes and punches for relief. We saw it in the thunderous An Action Hero and this thriller is no exception. The pace is appropriately treated with stillness. The intent may have been to allow the audiences to fully immerse in the lives of two ordinary people bestowed with overwhelming circumstances.
The final scene is heartbreaking. They have won a battle, but at the cost of losing what belonged to them. They are no longer haunted, but also leave behind what they call memories. And we exit with these conflicted emotions, to smile or not to smile. Rarely a film instills such contrasting thoughts.
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
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