Rating : ⭐️
Genre : Drama
Year : 2021
Running time : 2 hours 15 minutes
Director : Vineel Mathew
Cast : Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey, Harshvardhan Rane, Aditya Shrivastav
Kid rating : PG-13
In Netflix’s Haseen Dilruba, vivacious Rani (Taapsee Pannu) is wed in arranged marriage fashion to mild-mannered engineer Rishabh (Vikrant Massey). Rani and Rishu can’t remain happy together though, and Rishu asks her to leave the home. However he is killed in surprising circumstances, and Rani is the prime suspect.
Netflix’s Haseen Dilruba begins with the death and works its way backwards – so in the first half of the film we get a recounting of the events by Rani herself, as she relates events to Police Inspector Kishore Rawat (Aditya Shrivastav). The initial part of the movie is definitively the better half – since it channels the small-town atmosphere of a Tanu Weds Manu, with the events leading unto the wedding. There is even some humor to be had.
However in the second half, the film completely derails. There are too many logical loopholes to keep track of. Also where in the first half the events were at least believable, in the second, all reason goes out the window. Haseen Dilruba has an interesting premise, but director Mathew can’t keep it straight. Many events don’t have a proper lead-in or set-up giving them a surreal feel; the film’s editing is slapdash.
If Mathew had stuck to the bare bones of the film, it might have made more sense. As it is though, he stretches out important events, padding them with not-credible details and hammy dialogs, often staging them unrealistically. The Inspector-in-charge remains in dogged pursuit, and the entire police staff of inspectors and constables forsake their work and remain entranced by the “hot Bhabhi’s” case. Rani’s character is shown as almost insouciant as she is being grilled by the police. Her parents-in-law, witness to the rifts in the couple’s relationship, apparently don’t blame her.
The film is partially inspired by Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb To the Slaughter” but even that interesting twist gets lost in the mess that is this film. The whole ridiculous plot is also entwined with silly ideas of romance, and sudden inexplicable personality shifts. Rani’s characters is uneven but at least entertaining to begin with – she is pretty and sharp-witted, sparring with her mother-in-law when she exhorts her to be the susheel, sanskaari bahu they were promised. Rishu’s character is also unrealistic and veers wildly, as he goes from being mild-mannered and tolerant, to psychotic and abusive.
Haseen Dilruba unfolds like a pulpy C-grade film, with over-the-top characters. The film’s actors do well, but are hampered by the illogically conceived characters. Director Vineel Matthew directed Hasee Toh Phasee, and while that film will win no awards, it is much better than Haseen Dilruba. The plot of Haseen Dilruba is enticing but the poor execution and the complete lack of logic and reasoning make this movie a royal mess, one that not even its dependable actors can salvage.
Haseen Dilruba in a flawed film and cannot deliver on its promise.
Kidwise: Some domestic violence, blood, knife-wielding characters, adult situations and themes.
