Talaash, The Answer Lies Within — A Suspense Thriller With a Pinch of Supernatural
I have been a long-time fan of Reema Kagti’s screenplays with Zoya Akhtar — Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara, Dil Dhadakne Do, Gully Boy, Made in Heaven. I missed watching this movie written by her, and also directed by her — because many had revealed the biggest spoiler of this movie on social media. When I watched this movie few days back, I enjoyed the movie despite knowing the spoiler because there’s a lot more going on in the movie, as is always the case in Reema’s screenplays. Knowing the spoiler gave me a different interesting experience which one might get on a second viewing.
This movie could have been just a murder mystery but the story of Inspector Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) and his wife (Rani Mukherjee) and their tragic past and how he struggles with the trauma everyday adds a new dimension to this movie that is not related to the murder mystery at all. But I didn’t mind it because I could feel concern and sympathy for the two characters and hence I was interested in their journey. My favorite part wasn’t the big revelation of the murder mystery but the healing of trauma that Shekhawat had been struggling with.
Rosie (Kareena Kapoor) is a mysterious prostitute who is also an interesting character because of the way she speaks to Shekhawat, and the way she helps him in his investigation and his life.
I also liked watching Nawazuddin Siddiqui in an important role (considering that this was before he became a star) and Rajkummar Rao (a newcomer back then) in a cameo.
Overall I liked the movie. This movie shows that good character development and good storytelling can make even a normal murder mystery engaging and keep the viewer interested to know what will happen next. The viewers will also go along and accept some supernatural element you might throw into it as long as it neatly ties into the overall narrative. Looking forward to more good movies from Reema Kagti as a writer and a director (you may watch her first directorial venture Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. on Amazon Prime — an interesting weekend watch).
You may watch the movie Talaash, The Answer Lies Within on Netflix. Even if you know the biggest spoiler, you won’t be disappointed.
