“Gumrah” a remake of the 2019 Tamil film Thadam, this Vardhan Ketkar directorial venture has you hooked right from the opening scene when a murder is committed and the mystery unfolds. The whodunnit gets more complicated as the investigating officer, Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur), needs to track down the real culprit from two lookalikes, Arjun Sehgal and Ronnie (Aditya Roy Kapoor). Who is the real murderer and will Shivani be able to solve the mystery of this case?
Synopsis:
A compelling crime drama should have twists, turns, suspense and drama, and Gumrah has plenty that unfold interestingly throughout the narrative.
Review:
A remake of the 2019 Tamil film Thadam, this Vardhan Ketkar directorial venture has you hooked right from the opening scene when a murder is committed and the mystery unfolds. The whodunnit gets more complicated as the investigating officer, Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur), needs to track down the real culprit from two lookalikes, Arjun Sehgal and Ronnie (Aditya Roy Kapur).
Writers Asim Arora and Magizh Thirumeni’s screenplay and Ketkar’s taut direction ensure that the story moves quickly for the most part, even when the narrative moves to flashbacks. It does lose some momentum intermittently, mainly as the story builds up in the first half, but waits for the twist to pick things up again. The evidence pointing equally towards both the people is well done. The film does not use the tropes of double role fare, in that it does not overdo the mistaken identity puzzle. Despite being a straightforward story, the plot twists are entertaining, and the story gets better with a fresh backstory.
The film is based on real life incidents, which makes it all the more intriguing. So, even though the story may seem a bit farfetched, the examples at the end will convince you.
Ketan Sodha’s background score adds to the thrill, and the soundtrack has melodious tunes. Mithun’s Allah De Bande and Abhijeet Vaghani’s title track stand out in particular.
Aditya Roy Kapur’s characters are as different as chalk and cheese and he shines in both. He plays the well-dressed professional with as much gusto as he plays Ronnie the street bully. The actors perform stunts and emote with as much gusto as they deliver cheeky lines. Her scenes with Chaddi (Deepak Kalra) elicited laughter. Mrunal holds her own as a no-nonsense, smart and hardworking cop, as does Ronit Roy as her conniving boss, ACP Dhiren Yadav. Vedika Pinto plays Arjun’s love interest and delivers a good performance despite limited screen time.
Gumrah is worth going to the theaters for because of the engaging plot, twists and turns and good storytelling. The motive behind the murder may not come as a big surprise, but the suspense will keep you hooked till the end.