Silence… Can You Hear It? — I Didn’t Care
The viewer must care about the crime only then they will be interested and invested in following the investigation to solve the mystery. However, this movie makes no attempt to make the viewer care — I didn’t care. The only reason I watched this movie was because of Manoj Bajpai and Prachi Desai.
Manoj Bajpai is probably having the best time in his career right now, with many movies and shows on OTT and a national award for his role in Bhonsle. He has always been a terrific actor and I am glad he is getting his due. I was delighted to see Prachi Desai in a decent role after so long. The creators gave more screentime to her, especially with Manoj Bajpai, as compared to the other two guys in their team since she is still a known face in the industry. I’d like to see her in bigger roles in future since she is not only good looking but is also decent as an actor.
The suspense is revealed in a smart way towards the end and is well-concealed before that even though some might be able to guess it. It is a usual story though, and the plot doesn’t help in making it interesting because most of the movie is slow. There are some unnecessary instances that could have been edited out and nothing would have changed in the movie, for instance the shootout scene.
I couldn’t connect with any character in the story. I neither felt sad about the murder nor happy when the murderer was caught. It was the way I felt while solving mathematics problems in school — not sad when I had to sit for exam and not happy when I passed.
Overall the suspense was good but some emotional connection with the characters and tighter editing could have made this movie much better. The makers of this movie can take a cue from Raat Akeli Hai (a good suspense movie), which is also an unnecessary long movie but at least I felt invested in the journey of the characters of Nawazuddin and Radhika Apte.
The movie wasn’t a complete train-wreck and has some good aspects: no unnecessary romance or songs or sex scenes, the story stays focused on one single case, and the final suspense that is revealed is simple and makes sense. Had they avoided cuss words at few places where they’ve used it unnecessarily, this could have been a good family entertainer that you won’t feel cautious or embarrassed while watching with your parents or children.
After the movie ended, I could hear the silence in my room as my wife and I quietly walked up to our bathroom to brush our teeth, and to contemplate our choices in movies.