Film: Gumraah

Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Mrunal Thakur, Ronit Roy & Vedika Pinto

Director: Vardhan Ketkar

Rating: 3 Moons

Bollywood has been making some really intriguing whodunits for as long as one can remember. Some hit the right spot while some missed the mark but Vardhan Ketkar's Gumraah is somewhere in between. The 'almost' well-made murder-mystery stars Aditya Roy Kapur in a double role along with Mrunal Thakur, Vedika Pinto and Ronit Roy. The 2-hours-30-minute long film is based on a brutal murder investigation where two lookalikes, who are unaware of each other's existence, are the main suspects. Things become more complicated when the police uncover new shocking facts about the case.

Gumraah begins with a man (Aditya Roy Kapur) brutally murdering a Delhi-based guy named Akash Sartana. While the face of the murderer is shown in the very first scene, it is unclear whether it's Arjun Sehgal (Aditya Roy Kapur) - a well-to-do engineer, or Suraj Rana aka Ronny (Aditya Roy Kapur) - a small-time local goon. The police investigation begins that's headed by ACP Dhiren Yadav (Ronit Roy) and inspector Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur). What starts off as an open and shut case soon becomes a confusing tale of mysteries when ACP Yadav and Inspector Mathur find out about the two lookalikes Arjun and Suraj.

Recommended Read: Gumraah trailer: Aditya Roy Kapur impresses in his double roles in the murder mystery while Mrunal Thakur is hot on his trails as a cop investigating the crime

What follows next is a series of gripping events that keep the audiences hooked onto their screens and on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately, the first half is all about a strong build-up with very less impact. The real winner of Gumraah is the ending twist and emotional climax. 

Performances in Gumraah are on-point. Aditya Roy Kapur is praise-worthy. He makes a smooth transition from Arjun to Suraj and maintains the thrill of the storyline with his acting skills. His action is impressive and looks realistic. Aditya's chemistry with Vedika Pinto, who plays his girlfriend, is charming. Vedika brings in her charm and freshness to the story. Mrunal as a cop is as convincing as it gets. Her bold looks and strong eye-contacts make her character powerful. Her screen time, however, is much shorter in the first half. Ronit carries some really important scenes of Gumraah single-handedly on his shoulders.

Vardhan Ketkar's direction is up to the mark. He carefully helms a thriller, keeping intact the suspense. What sort of goes wrong in Gumraah is its writing and story by Aseem Arora and Magizh Thirumeni. A murder mystery is considered successful if the audience cannot guess the killer but if you are intelligent enough, you will know about the twist mid-way through the second half. Gumraah cannot manage to leave the same impact as the original Tamil film Thadam but it doesn't leave one disappointed as well. Cinematographer Vineet Malhotra aces the camera work. Sahil Nayar's editing could have been crisp though. Ketan Sodha's music is apt in Gumraah and songs by Mithoon, Vishal Mishra, Tanishk Bagchi and Abhijit Vaghani are a treat to the ears. 

PeepingMoon gives Gumraah 3 Moons!