Review: 'Gumraah' leaves you in the dark having a disjointed narrative and underutilized actors

Gumraah

With a plethora of whodunnits and thrillers swarming in, there needs to be a strong element to make it standout amongst the others, and let alone that, but at least keep you hooked. Director Vardhan Ketkar is here with a crime-thriller and stars some beautiful people. So lets see if these beauties play with your brains to surprise you or disappoint you. Having had the chance to watch the film beforehand, this is what I feel about it. 

The Plot and Screenplay

Directed by Vardhan Ketkar, the crime thriller Gumraah, which is a remake of the Tamil film 'Thadam' tells a story revolving around two identical twins involved in a murder case. Aditya Roy Kapur plays a dual role - Arjun and Ronnie, the former being a sophisticated civil engineer, and the latter being a ruthless criminal. Further events unfold when the investigation begins involving Inspector Shivani Mathur (Mrunal Thakur), Dhiren Yadav (Ronit Roy), and their team.

The plot lacks the intrigue that a whodunnit needs to keep you hooked. It feels stretched and lousy. There are plenty of loop holes and plot holes and any other kinds of holes. You linger at the ending with an unfettered thought. While there are a few interesting moments, the majority of the narrative is predictable and, to put it bluntly - dull. 

The typical portrayal of the police functioning

The way the country's whole framework of law and order is portrayed in Bollywood movies is a prime example of how certain things never change. Shivani is degraded by Ronit Roy's senior officer persona for obvious reasons. Some other senior executives don't seem to care much about what's happening. In a scenario, a cop is shown having a sexy video chat with a random woman during work hours. Some of them serve in accordance with internal gangs and tamper with the evidence for their own purposes. It is cliched and stereotypical that has been the case for a long time now.

Cluttered subplots

The inclusion of numerous subplots, many of which lack heads and toes, is a recurring flaw in the way the story is structured. When the lives of the characters are intertwined without giving each one an appropriate justification or sufficient information, everything appears jumbled. Dysfunctional family, sibling conflicts, a love tale, a vindictive police case, sexism in the police hierarchy, and a random murder are all thrown together making the viewers feel overwrought and confused.  

The Performances

No doubt, Aditya Roy Kapur is a sight to behold on-screen and this time it's twice. Kapur as Arjun is sauve, settled and has that conviction, but ic could have been more layered and nuanced. It almost feels like he is trying to do many things at one, while loosing focus on all of them entirely.

And as Ronnie, he is rugged and raw, He has a swag and charm, thus being better when it comes to delivering the essence of the character. He does hold your attention with a few witty one-liners here and there and portrays conviction in the writing.

Mrunal Thakur as cop Shivani is a robot with a poker face look and nothing to emote. With bare minimum dialogues and not so sufficient screen time, the skilled actress definitely feels to be underused with a bad writing. 

Ronit Roy as Dhiren Yadav is tough and cruel. He justifies the part presented to him and there isn't much scope for novelty in here.

Aditya Roy Kapur as a lover

The love story in the film is a stream of cringy words and occurrences. It veers aimlessly from cliché to disconnected. You will undoubtedly recall the nauseating "girls coffee, guys tea" meme. The predictable proposal, separation and bizarre tunes in between makes it all look like a mess. Aditya Roy Kapur, who began his career as a lover-boy in Aashiqui 2, fails awfully to demonstrate his affection and passion in this scenario despite having that sparkle in his eyes. It merely comes out as artificial and strained. 

The Verdict

Overall, Gumraah is a lost cause with an uninteresting storyline, disjointed subplots and underutilization of skilled actors. PS. The opening credits showing blurry montages already bore you and then the end justifies why it all seemed so blurry. 

Rating: *1/2 (1.5/5) stars