Producers: Bobby Bedi, Sheetal Vinod Talwar

Writer, Director: Manish Gupta

Stars: Kay Kay Menon, Arbaaz Khan, Rukhsar, Vikram Gokhale, Virendra Saxena

Creative Quotient
Set in 1983 in central Mumbai, this is the story of a mysterious serial killer who stoned pavement dwellers, mostly beggars, to death. As a plausible explanation to this closed, solution-less case in the police files, the film offers a denouement that’s connected to pagan rituals followed by the adivasis from Maharashtra’s hinterlands.

All this is fine, but the additional story built around the killings and what follows after the first denouement are laughably ridiculous and senseless, especially when imagination had free rein here. Sanjay Shelar (Kay Kay Menon) is suspended from the police force for causing a custodial death, but his boss (Vikram Gokhale), permits him to conduct a parallel investigation promising that if he solves the case first, he will be reinstated.

Shelar goes ahead dedicatedly, even courting marital discord as he remains out at night. But the absurdities that pile up are one too many to be detailed here and the narration gets woefully moronic.

Technical Expertise
The camerawork is skilled, the background score adequate, but the dialogues are often laughable, especially between Sanjay’s coquettish wife (Rukhsar) and him. The plot has a complete disregard for common sense and Kay Kay Menon, though sincere, is crippled by the pedestrian writing that is full of silly, avoidable flaws. The chill factor that should have accompanied the murder sequences is missing and there are too few surprises. From the rest of the cast, Vikram Gokhale and Virendra Saxena score high but Arbaaz Khan is wasted and Rukhsar seems to have forgotten the rudiments of good acting. Director-writer Manish Gupta must brush up his act pronto and show some respect for the intelligence of the audience.