3.0/5
Anu Menon directed the biopic of human computer Shakuntala Devi, starring Vidya Balan, and this time around she has been heavily influenced by both editions of Knives Out, which in turn was inspired by movies based on Agatha Christie novels. It follows all the classic tropes of close door mysteries. A billionaire, Ashish Kapoor (Ram Kapoor), invites his friends and relatives – girlfriend Lisa (Shahana Goswami), brother-in-law Jimmy Mistry (Rahul Bose), step son Rayan Kapoor (Shashank Arora), who comes with his girlfriend Gigi (Prajakta Koli), step daughter Sasha (Ishika Mehra), best friend Sanjay Suri (Neera Kabi), Suri’s wife Noor (Dipannita Sharma), and his spiritual adviser Zara (Niki Aneja Walia) to his island estate off Scotland to celebrate his birthday. Present at the venue are his secretary Kay (Amrita Puri) and estate manager Tanveer (Danesh Razvi). A surprise guest, in the form of CBI inspector Mira Rao (Vidya Balan), too drops in. Little by little, secrets stumble out. We come to know that Ashish Kapoor has been suffering a huge loss in his business by gambling on space technology and as a result has not been paying his employees for two years. Several have committed suicide due to depression. He plans to turn himself in and hence has asked the Indian government to send a representative to Scotland. The island is beset by a huge storm and everyone is huddled inside the mansion. Tensions ensue and masks come off. His body is found beneath a cliff and the guests find a suidice note as well. But Mira Rao thinks its murder and not suicide, as each of the guests has a motive for murder…The film goes through one revelation after another every ten minutes. After a while, things get so convoluted it's hard to keep track. Everyone has their own agenda and secrets to keep but this overload of information becomes too much for the lay viewer. Mira Rao, too, has her quirks. She doesn't eat or drink anything offered and seems to be subsisting on hard boiled sweets. She seems to be lost in her own world throughout and only comes alive in the endgame, where she uses her prowess to get to the bottom of the truth. One’s hard pressed to know why Vidya Balan looks so befuddled throughout but suffice to say it’s all intentional.
A murder mystery is a complex structure and has to be woven properly to create effect. One gets the impression that the director lost track of the tangled web she was weaving. Some of the plot points, like the one concerning Neera Kabi or even Tanveer’s characters, needed further clarity. Rahul Bose is supposed to be gay but then is revealed to have a one-night stand with a woman. Now, that falls within the realms of possibility but it’s all rushed and not explained properly. The characters aren’t as fleshed out as one would have liked. And one can guess at the ending a mile off.
Vidya Balan is the glue which holds the film together. Her eccentricities, her mannerisms draw you in. You’re basically trying to solve who she is, rather than concentrating on the murders, which can be both good or bad – we leave the final consensus to the viewer. Each member of the ensemble cast has their moment in the sun. They’re all capable actors and do their bit well enough. The dialogue is witty and lends a lighter tone to the proceedings.
All-in-all, watch the film if you like old school murder mysteries. Vidya Balan has excelled in another complex character. How we wish it was all better put together.
Trailer : Neeyat
Dhaval Roy, July 7, 2023, 1:34 PM IST
3.0/5
Neeyat story: When an exiled billionaire mysteriously dies at his birthday party at a Scottish castle, all his family and friends are prime suspects, each with a motive to kill him. CBI Officer Mira Rao must use her skills to solve the murder.
Neeyat review: A gothic Scottish castle overlooking the sea, a stormy full moon night, a murder with several prime suspects—each with a clear motive, and an awkward but intelligent CBI officer trying to solve the mystery; prima facie, director Anu Menon’s Whodunnit, seems to have a lot going for it to keep the viewer hooked. The thriller begins well as the colourful, exiled billionaire Ashish Kapoor (Ram Kapoor) and his posse of richlings are introduced as everyone gathers for his birthday party. This includes his best friend Sanjay Suri (Neeraj Kabi) and his wife Noor Suri (Dipannita Sharma), gregarious brother-in-law Jimmy (Rahul Bose), spiritual healer and tarot card reader Zara (Niki Walia), girlfriend Lisa (Shahana Goswami), son Ryan (Shashank Arora), and niece Sasha (Ishika Mehra). You can tell everyone is mooching off the magnate, and even those not in his inner circle, event manager Tanveer (Danesh Razvi), secretary Kay (Amrita Puri) and Ryan’s girlfriend Gigi (Prajakta Koli) also have something to hide.
There’s an unlikely attendee among them. CBI officer Mira Rao, who’s there to extradite Ashish, but ends up investigating his murder. Mira is the gawky genius who can call out deception, knows her chemistry, and is a sharp observer. What follows isn’t unlike murder mysteries—skeletons tumbling out of the closet, trap doors, tonnes of secrets and then some. While all the ingredients are in place, the film falters in execution. Mira is served with all the clues on a platter—characters discussing secrets as she’s passed out two feet away from them and gaining consciousness, glow-in-the-dark socks, carelessly hidden papers peeking from behind bathroom mirrors, and so on. Andreas Neo’s cinematography, Lydia Moss’s art direction and the film’s overall treatment are good. But as the mystery unravels, the plot gets thinner; things seem too convenient and cliched in many instances. Some loopholes are difficult to ignore, and the long roster of characters to investigate also means the pace dips and the narrative drags intermittently.
Vidya Balan as a brainiac officer described as a walking encyclopaedia delivers a decent performance. We've seen Vidya Balan in better form (in other films) but this is far from her finest performance. Ram Kapoor delivers a finessed performance, whether as an infamous and flagrant business tycoon, a disappointed father or a mean-tempered man. Rahul Bose is loud and unconvincing in his party-hearty no-gooder act. Shashank Arora stands out as the junkie and troubled son, and his dialogue timing is impeccable. Neeraj Kabi and Niki Walia also deserve mention.
The film is watchable purely for the performances and the way it's stylised. It offer a couple of spooky scenes, too. But for a thriller, the movie deserved a far tighter screenplay, more suspense and surprise elements thrown in. But we are left needing for that.
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