Andhadhun Film Review - Is it any good?
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00:00I have just been to watch Andhadhun and I must say I was blown away.
00:09The movie opens on a non-threatening note as we are introduced to Akash Sharma,
00:13played by Ayushman Khurana, a blind pianist and how he goes about his life.
00:18The plot gains momentum when he stumbles upon a murder in Simi's household.
00:24Now Simi is played by the fabulous actress Thabo.
00:27She plays the much younger wife to a fading, aging star
00:31and somehow Akash, played by Khurana, gets embroiled in a murder mystery.
00:35Here's what I loved about the movie.
00:37It's the performances.
00:39Thabo is diabolical in her role as Simi.
00:42She's sinister and she's wicked.
00:44And then there's Ayushman Khurana.
00:46He's one of the few actors in Bollywood who's constantly reinventing himself with his roles.
00:52Every movie you see a different facet of the actor.
00:54Andhadhun is no different.
00:56He's a musician himself.
00:57So he brings those nuances and the crafts into the narrative.
01:01The way his fingers move.
01:03I'm told that he was trained heavily for this role by a trained pianist.
01:07And you can see that.
01:08He's very convincing in the role as this non-threatening, unassuming Akash.
01:13But there's more to him than meets the eye.
01:16Full credit to director Raghavan for keeping the viewers guessing.
01:20Radhika Apte.
01:21She's another actress who's done exceedingly well in different kinds of roles.
01:25The question is, is she the victim or is she a perpetrator?
01:28One of the common mistakes that you see in Bollywood murder mystery is that it's very predictable.
01:34But here Andhadhun does not toe the traditional lines.
01:37The first half of the movie moves at a rapid pace.
01:40The second half has enough twists to keep you invested in all the characters.
01:45Now regarding the performances,
01:46I have to tell you it is Thabo that outshone every other actor on the sets.
01:51Also there are the usual suspects in Sriram Raghavan's movies.
01:55The very talented Ashwini Kalsekar.
01:58And there is also Zakir Hussain who play pivotal roles in this film.
02:03Each of these characters have fully fleshed out roles.
02:06But it is Thabo that gets maximum time to do all the heavy lifting.
02:10And she does it with great strength and great,
02:13I must say, grace even while she's being very mean-spirited and vicious.
02:18She's venomous.
02:19But there is a part to her that we instantly root for.
02:23Here in this movie, the characters are emotionally complex.
02:26They are layered.
02:27But what sets them apart is that there's no rationale or logic behind it.
02:31And we are not looking for one either.
02:33Are we missing the logic?
02:34No, we are not.
02:35While the first half moves at a rapid pace, post-interval,
02:39there are certain twists that make you wonder whether all of this is going a bit out of control.
02:45Where are these mad hatters coming from?
02:47Are they even allowed to be out there?
02:50Are they sane enough to be let out on the streets?
02:53That was one of the questions that came my way.
02:56This is the movie equivalent of reading a James Hardly Chase novel
02:59or watching one of those David Fincher's exciting, absorbing thrillers.
03:03I'm going with 3.5 stars out of 5.
03:06This is Manjusha Radhakrishnan from Gulf News Tabloid.
03:09For the full review, go to gulfnews.com slash tabloid.