Aditya Roy Kapur-Mrunal Thakur’s thriller lacks deft direction and ends up as a lukewarm spin on the double role trope.
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Mrunal Thakur, Ronit Roy, Vedika Pinto, Deepak Kalra
Director: Vardhan Ketkar
Writers: Original Story by Magizh Thirumeni, Screenplay by Aseem Arora
“Kabhi kabhi lagta hain kuch jyaada overambitious toh nahin ho gayi,” says Janhvi (Vedika Pinto) to her beau Arjun (Aditya Roy Kapur) in a scene in Gumraah. Likewise, this Vardhan Ketkar directorial tries to make itself look like a clever thriller but achieves the desired result only in specks.
What’s Yay: A few plot twists if you haven’t watched Thadam.
What’s Nay: Lack of novelty in the execution
Story
Set in Delhi, on a rainy night, a man is stabbed to death with a screwdriver in a posh bungalow. The yellow-hoodie clad killer barely makes any efforts to hide his identity. Cut to the next day, Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur), a sub-inspector turns up on the crime scene to investigate the gruesome murder.
As she begins her probe, one of the clues help her to establish the identity of the yellow-hoodie killer as Arjun Sehgal (Aditya Roy Kapur), a civil engineer with a flourishing career. To add more to it, the assistant commissioner of police, Dhiren Yadav (Ronit Roy) has a settle to score with Arjun and plans to beat a confession out of him.
Just when everyone thinks that they have solved this open-and-shut case, the cops arrest a cocky trickster, Ronnie (Aditya Roy Kapur) who looks exactly like Arjun in a drink and drive case. When Ronnie and Arjun come face-to-face in the police station, the entire investigation gets derailed as their individual histories leave the cops in a fix.
Direction
Gumraah is more or less same as its source material, Thadam in terms of the plot. Thus, the twists thrown in the narrative barely thrills if you have already watched the AL Vijay starrer.
Two lookalikes embroiled in a murder case- while this concept has a lot of potential, Vardhan Ketkar fails to execute it in a slick manner. Some of the creases from the original film also make their way into this Aditya Roy starrer. The dialogues too fail to pack a punch. After a slacked first half, Vardhan and Co. roll up their sleeves and get into action post interval. Things get a tad better but still not enough to keep you on the edge of your seats.
Performances
As Arjun who is all charm and a haughty Ronnie, Aditya Roy Kapur uses voice modulation as a tool to make his double act distinct. It works in his favour to some extent. The actor makes most of both, Arjun and Ronnie to keep your eyes glued to the screen.
Mrunal Thakur tries to pass off as a tough cop with a perennially poker face. The actress with an impressive resume, leaves you highly disappointed this time. Ronit Roy’s cop act comes across more as a parody.
Deepak Kalra as Ronnie’s partner-in-crime Chaddi (Yes, we ain’t making up that name) is passable. Vedika Pinto steps in to add some romance in this suspenser and does a satisfactory job.
Technical Aspects
Vineet Malhotra’s camerawork barely adds any tension in the narrative. Sahil Nayar’s editing isn’t razor sharp to make Gumraah a gripping watch.
Music
The Gumraah title track which plays in the opening credit has some catchy beats. ‘Soniye Je’ which is a club number suffers from forgettable lyrics. ‘Ghar Nahi Jaana’ too, fails to impress. ‘Allah De Bande’, a soft rock number with a hint of Sufism might grow on some.
Verdict
“Jis cheez ka result pehle se hi pata who karne main kaha maza aata hain,” a character tells the other in Gumraah. One wonders if director Vardhan Ketkar took this advice a bit seriously while helming his thriller. In a nutshell, Gumraah strays away from being a gripping watch.
