Monica, O My Darling REVIEW: RajKummar Rao, Huma Qureshi serve a hilarious murder mystery but the climax will make you scratch your head

Film: Monica, O My Darling

Director: Vasan Bala

Star cast: Rajkummar Rao, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte, Sikander Kher, Sukant Goel, Akansha Ranjan Kapoor, and Zayn Marie

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 3/5 stars

 

Monica, O My Darling movie REVIEW:

Monica, O My Darling is a movie that is all about the murder mystery and the climax will actually leave you all confused. It is like the movie took you on a very intriguing journey and it left you abruptly at the end of the ride, making you think there’s nowhere else to go. As I was watching the movie with a clean slate, I was pretty intrigued by the story. It starts with a bang and you know what to expect from the movie. Considering it is a murder mystery, all the suspense is often revealed at the climax; however, the story starts getting predictable as the story progresses but I honestly had no clue what exactly happened at the end of the film.

It is a story about a man named Jayant Arkhedkar who is an expert in robotics and gets involved with his co-worker named Monica. However, he is not alone in the hot waters when he realises that two other men are also involved with Monica. As they get to know that she is going to blackmail them, they make up a plan to murder them. Well, given the fact that it is a murder mystery and you know that the murder will be flawless but oh boy, expect the unexpected from the movie. Monica O My Darling is a movie that will go according to the plan and that’s what makes this an entertaining watch. With all the intense situations and after-effects, several situations will surely leave you in splits.

The other thing that I liked was that the makers added the touch of a retro and vintage vibe to the modern movie which is quite unexpected here. With a little jazz and a little 80s classic touch, Monica O My Darling looks classy and eye-pleasing. To maintain the vibe of the movie, they have even picked all the old jazzy songs which is quite amusing.

The edgy and dark comedy makes the movie quite interesting and watchable. There never was a dull moment neither I felt it was dragged for unnecessary reasons. However, the movie does raise a lot of questions in my mind and I just can’t pen it down for spoiler reasons. Right from making a murder plan to the investigation of the murder, everything seemed quite cool and casual and that sort of irked me. Though the movie is backed by dark comedy, it seems like the makers forgot that it still needs a little authenticity instead of making a puppet show. Also, if you enjoy dark humour, Monica O My Darling can be your pick.

Story:

A robotic expert named Jayant Arkhedkar leads a happy and successful life in an MNC. But little did he know that he will find himself in the hot waters when he gets involved with his co-worker Monica. Later, he knows that he is not the only one but there are two more men who get involved with Monica. As they think she will soon start blackmailing them, they jointly make a murderous plot after a passionate affair takes a sudden turn. But will Jayant and his partners get succeed in murdering Monica? Will they get caught?

Star Performances:

RajKummar Rao who plays the role of Jayant Arkhedkar, a professional and expert in the robotic field is simply fantastic. The actor is one talented man and the more I see him in the movies, Raj always amazes me with his acting chops. There was one scene in the movie where Huma is seen slapping him and RajKummar almost starts crying about it. His expression in the scene makes me wonder if I should go all ‘aww’ or laugh about it. He does it with so much conviction that you honestly start feeling for the character. RajKummar plays his role with utmost honesty and that’s why people can relate to him easily.

 

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I always thought Huma Qureshi has a lot of potential as an actor and she really needs to be explored in more movies. She has surely impressed me with her role in the movie. Huma brings freshness and sassiness to the story and she portrays it so well. Huma has limited screen time and can easily be seen as the glam doll of the story but she shines throughout the film.

I think every story needs a little tadka and Radhika Apte is the one in Monica O My Darling. She plays a police officer in the movie who investigates the murder case. She is more like Simmba than Singham and that’s why her character looks so hilarious. Radhika is often seen essaying serious and mature roles but this time, she proved that she can do more than that. Radhika plays a cool and causal character in this murder drama and she is a charmer alright.

Sikander Kher, Sukant Goel and Akansha Ranjan Kapoor too have lesser screen time but all of them played their parts perfectly. It’s like they know their characters quite well and are good in their expertise that things just fell into the place quite nicely.

Direction/ Screenplay: 

Yogesh Chandekar is the writer of Monica O My Darling. The story looks flawless on paper but has several glitches when it came to the celluloid. As I have mentioned above, the movie does leave you asking many questions. Moreover, it also comes to an abrupt end that will make you scratch your head and ask what actually happened at the end. Moreover, I really enjoyed the direction by Vasan Bala, it is crisp as well as cinematic. He makes you understand the scenario in an amusing way. I liked how he added the old quirky songs to a serious scene, perfectly giving the combination of dark and light.

There was another scene in the movie where RajKummar fights with another character in the closed room. Showing in the POV style, we don’t get to hear the action sounds in the scene and that is quite hysterical.

Conclusion:

Overall, RajKummar Rao and Huma Qureshi serve a dark yet hilarious murder mystery but the climax seemed quite confusing. The edgy and dark humour makes the movie quite interesting and watchable. It promises you to give you thrills and it pretty much hits its mark but falls short at the end. On the other hand, Radhika Apte’s sassiness only adds to its entertainment quotient. I’m going with 3 stars because of the stellar performances by RajKummar, Radhika and Huma while the other one is giving retro touch and opting for old jazzy songs while the loose and abrupt climax lost some stars.

Watch Monica, O My Darling trailer, after the review:

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