Rating: 4/5
Directed by Vinil Mathew and produced under the banners of Colour Yellow Productions, T-Series and Eros International, Haseen Dillruba is a romantic mystery thriller film about a murder that revolves around a married couple.
Story
The plotline of Haseen Dillruba starts off with the police investigating the murder of Rishu (Vikrant Massey), with the prime suspect as his wife, Rani (Taapsee Pannu).
As Rani goes on to narrate the sequences of her married life with Rishu, as part of the investigation, it is revealed that the relationship was quite thorny.
Starting off on the wrong foot, the couple find it hard to get along, and Rani blames it upon the arranged marriage system. This rocky relationship gets completely torn out with the arrival of Rishu’s cousin, Neel (Harshvardhan Rane).
Rani finds herself attracted to Neel and has an extra-marital affair with him. Even though she planned to leave Rishu behind and elope with Neel, the latter unexpectedly abandons her.
With the murder of Rishu, the police inspector is ascertained that Rani and Neel were the ones who teamed up against him, but things lead up to a major plot twist.
Performances
Pannu, with her impressive track record, has never failed to garner attention, transforming any movie of hers into a women-centric one, but as Rani, her work could have been more dynamic than is portrayed. As the epi-centre of the love triangle, her portrayal of lacked emotional potency.
On the brighter side, the portrayal of Rishu by Massey was brilliant. Rishu plays the conventional sexless, innocent, pant-shirted male lead, ridiculed by the muscular masculine cosmos. As he transforms into the angry husband filled with agony and murderous intent towards his wife, the portrayal is creepily perfect.
Apart from the couple, the intruder, Neel, played by Rane, is also seemingly similar to general Bollywood villain tropes; muscular and traditionally masculine and the final return to blackmail, which leads to getting himself killed.
Another notable performance is by Aditya Shrivastav who plays the diligent cop, who cannot rest until he cracks the case.
Positives
The direction by Mathew serves as the perfect catalyst to present the story to the audience in an effective manner. He successfully manages to serve up his characters on a plate and yet have a mysterious veil around them.
The concept of arranged marriages remains intrinsic to Indian society. The way Haseen Dillruba takes up the nuances and intricacies involved with this practice is portrayed well through the progression of the plotline.
The stereotypical role of an Indian woman who has to satisfy not only her husband but also his entire family is taken up smartly in the movie. The subtle outlook on how even the woman needs certain requirements to lead a smooth relationship is portrayed well.
Even as the marriage takes a thorny route from the start, even posed with a dead-end with Neel, the movie transforms into how the relationship is successfully revived and the couple truly fall in love.
The movie successfully shows how a rocky relationship can be revived no matter how grave the situation may lead to.
Even though the Rishu goes as far as murderous intent towards Rani, out of anger, in the end he sacrifices the ultimatum to remain with her, thus, showing the depths of true love.
Negatives
Haseen Dillruba has an inconsistent screenplay riddled with a slow flow, and multiple clichéd scenes that are rather predictable, making the viewer impatient for the final reveal.
Worth it?
Haseen Dillruba serves as a definitive one-time watch that is sure to make the viewers believe in true love even in the face of intense adversity.
Also Read: Ray (2021) review: Intriguing compilation that mostly impresses