Gumraah REVIEW: Aditya Roy Kapur and Mrunal Thakur narrate an unusual and intriguing story with a dull execution

Film: Gumraah

Director: Vardhan Ketkar

Star Cast: Mrunal Thakur, Aditya Roy Kapur, Ronit Roy, Deepak Kalra, Vedika Pinto,

Platform: Theatres

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 2.5/5 stars

Gumraah Movie REVIEW: 

Gumraah starring Aditya Roy Kapur, Murnal Thakur and Ronit Roy is a murder mystery that stands true to its title. As the film started, we get to see a man in a yellow raincoat standing in the rain. I was like ‘Hello, Ek Villain’ as it gave me that vibe. I was wondering if the film will have some Ek Villain touch but much to my delight, I didn’t see that as the film proceeded.

Aditya Roy Kapur essays the role of dual characters Arjun Seghal and Sooraj Rana. Both are the sides of the same coin, while one is a hot-headed person, the other one is calm and composed. Both their lives contradict each other but there’s always something that binds them together. Both their characters are poles apart but there’s one thing that connects them and that is a murder case. Gumraah is a suspense thriller which is backed with a love story, a dysfunctional family, sibling issues.

Yes, the first part will keep you engrossed as one by one the evidence gets unfolded but seems a little drag. Even you will continuously keep solving the jigsaw puzzle and sooner or later you get to understand the gist of the story. I predicted the first half and it lived up to it and to be honest, I did try to crack the second part as well but Gumraah did surprise me. The movie became a bit interesting in the second part when it finally picked up the pace.

Drawbacks:

The story might be quite an intriguing one on papers but the execution seems poor. There been so many times where I wasn’t convinced or felt connected to the movie. It grabbed my attention in bits and parts. Even though the runtime is 2h 10m, it felt like a 3 hour film which was tiresome.

Story:

The murder investigation of a young man takes an unexpected turn when the cops discover that the prime suspect has a lookalike. As the police officers are completely baffled by the situation, they discover that both the lookalikes are connected to the case and are the prime suspects. Will they be able to find the guilty? Will the police officers solve the complicated case?

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Star Performances: 

Ladies, you’re in for a hot treat if you are a fan of Aditya Roy Kapur. The man demands attention for all the right reasons. He is seen in dual characters and trust me, you will enjoy him in both avatars. While one is organised, the other one is all over the place. One is composed and the other one is cocky and that’s what attracts me the most, to be honest. Aditya was flawless in both parts and I loved it. No, it is not the inner fan who is saying this but Aditya was quite promising.

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Mrunal Thakur plays the role of a police investigator Shivani who is smart and alert. A no nonsense officer that will not take a second to call you out for your shit. This is the first time I’m seeing Mrunal in a tough cop and somewhere she was lacking that stance and poise. It feels she was trying way to hard to look like a tough cop and that was not convincing me. Otherwise, I have enjoyed her performances before and she is one promising star; however, there was something that she lacked in Gumraah.

Ronit Roy as ACP Yadav is stellar. He has a strong hold onscreen and delivers yet again a killer performance. On the other hand, Deepak Kalra did a fab job playing Chaddi, Aditya ‘s friend.

We also see the Liggi star Vedika Pinto who is pretty decent playing Aditya ‘s love interest.

Direction/ Screenplay:

Vardhan Ketkar is the captain of the ship and got a full fledged film to direct after being an assistant director of Dabangg , Brother, Kapoor and Sons. The film was touted to be a suspense thriller and usually, we see that there’s a certain tension or ambience that will make you feel the vibe; however, I didn’t that get.

Vardhan even tried to keep the commercial touch to the film by adding typical party tracks and romantic songs. Though the action sequences were not well choreographed, I liked how Vardhan showed us the massy hero vibes from Aditya. Now that I look back at his filmography, I have not seen him in full massy hero who dances with girls around him or gives a dhaasu action performance. It is a different change and I liked that part of Aditya.

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Conclusion: 

Concluding my Gumraah review, Aditya Roy Kapur and Mrunal Thakur starrer is a decent watch and will surely keep you hooked in bits and parts. It’s the unusual story that will interest you but it’s the dull execution that can be a little off-putting.

Watch the Gumraah trailer after the review:

Also read: Gaslight REVIEW: Sara Ali Khan, Vikrant Massey, Chitrangda Singh starrer is a decent watch