Murder 3 Movie Review

 

Rating: 2.5/5 stars (Two-and-a-half stars)

Star cast: Randeep Hooda, Sara Loren, Aditi Rao Hydari

What’s Good: The gripping story; the songs & music.

What’s Bad: The screenplay drags a bit; Randeep Hooda & Sara Loren’s acting.

Loo break: Any in the first half.

Watch or Not?: Give this thriller a chance, it will keep you hooked to your seat.

 

As another member of the Bhatt family takes the director’s seat, they also have a list of foreign counterparts to thank for official/unofficial rights of the story, poster etc.

A namesake sequence shows us that lovebirds Roshni (Aditi Rao Hydari) and Vikram (Randeep Hooda) only have eyes for each other. While Vikram is still struggling to get his act as a photographer together he lands a big gig in Mumbai. Blinded in love, Roshni quits her job in South Africa and the couple comes to The City That Never Sleeps.

We find out that Roshni has walked out on Vikram, leaving him brooding and hooked to the bottle. After he gets into trouble during one of his drinking sprees, a waitress, Nisha (Sara Loren), takes him home. It’s not long before Nisha ends up in Vikram’s bed. Vikram’s house gives Nisha the creeps, especially the bathroom. She keeps hearing noises, seeing ripples and gets scalded in the shower.

Meanwhile, the cops are searching for the missing Roshni with no luck and one of them also happens to be Nisha’s ex-lover. Though they suspect Vikram, his girlfriend seems to have vanished without a trace. Nisha has a hard time dealing with the empty house/poltergeist and Vikram’s mood swings.

Is Vikram responsible for Roshni’s disappearance? Who or what is behind the spooky happenings in the house? Will they find Roshni before it is too late?

 

Murder 3 Review: Script Analysis

Murder 3 is the official remake of the Colombian thriller, The Hidden Face. Arturo Infante and Hatem Khraiche’s story gets just about satisfactory justice in the pens of Mahesh Bhatt and Amit Masurkar The script is quite good and will keep you on the edge of your seat. But the first half is rather slow. Also, the characters are not etched out well. The character of the cop-ex-boyfriend is an interesting addition but has not been used well. The part of the story of Roshni doubting Vikram should have been handled better.

Some might find the ending a bit unforgiving, but it’s a very intriguing twist. Sanjay Masoom’s dialogues are rather bland and disappointing.

Murder 3 Review: Star Performances

A bad hairstyle takes away some of Randeep Hooda’s suave that he should have had as Vikram in the film. The rest of it goes away with his lazy acting. It’s sad to see someone of his caliber disappoint with a shoddy performance. Sara Loren (last seen as Mona Lizza in the Himesh Reshammiya starrer Kajraare) is okay. The rest of the cast lend able support.

Aditi Rao Hydari’s role as Roshni is the pillar for this movie. Though she comes across as meek and squeaky at the start, her character develops quite well. She is just marvelous in her breakdown scene.

Murder 3 Review: Direction, Music & Technical Aspects

Vishesh Bhatt’s direction is good for his debut but he leaves you with the feeling that something much more could have been done with a script like this. Raju Singh’s background music is alright. There’s nothing memorable about Pritam, Anupam Amod and Roxen Band’s songs but they suit the moment well. Cinematography by Sunil Patel is ho-hum. Devendra Murdeshwar’s editing is good.

Murder 3 Review: The Last Word

Murder 3 is an interesting movie where the suspense will keep you hooked. Worth a watch.