207. Gumraah; movie review

 

GUMRAAH

Cert 15

127 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong violence, sexual violence

Bravo to Aditya Roy Kapur... he carries off with great aplomb both of the key roles in this intense, twisting thriller.

I was surprised how gripped I was by Vardhan Ketkar's Gumraah, given its convoluted plot with turns that keep coming up until its conclusion.

I had missed out on the original Tamil version, Thadam, so can't comment on which is better but would be impressed if it had this quality.

Kapur plays Arjun who appears banged to rights after his photo is taken at the scene of a murder.

It seems even more certain that he is set for the slammer when it transpires that the local police commander (Ronit Roy) has a long-standing grudge against him.

But then a lookalike is arrested and the police have to work out whether it was Arjun who committed murder after all.

Police brutality, incompetence and corruption are all part of the mix as the investigation proceeds with the pendulum of guilt swinging towards one suspect and then the other.

Meanwhile, a specialist sub-inspector (Mrunal Thakur) is the cool head trying to concentrate only on the evidence rather than emotion.

At just over two hours, Gumraah is tighter than many Bollywood films and benefits from it - not wasting a second.

Indeed, there are even some jaw-dropping revelations during its closing credits.

Netflix audiences who may have been wondering whether to delve into Indian cinema may well start here. I think it would maintain their attention.

Reasons to watch: Intriguing thriller

Reasons to avoid: A tad too convoluted

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Identical twins come from the same fertilised egg and share the same genetic blueprint. To a standard DNA test, they are indistinguishable but they do not have matching fingerprints

The final word. Aditya Roy Kapur: "When you are shooting on the same day for both the characters, flipping between characters can be a bit challenging because you have to be very clear about being different. This challenge with one of the reasons why I said yes to the film." First Post

Share this post