'Haseen Dillruba' movie review: Vikrant Massey outshines Taapsee Pannu in the not-so-nail-biting whodunnit

Haseen Dillruba movie review: Vikrant Massey outshines Taapsee Pannu in a murder mystery that lacks thrills 

Movie cast: Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey, Harshvardhan Rane, Ashish Verma, Aditya Srivastava, Yamini Das, Daya Shankar Pandey and others

Director: Vinil Mathew

Duration: 2 hours 16 mintues

Where to watch?: Netflix

Rating: 3 stars

'Haseen Dillruba story': Under investigation as a suspect in her husband's murder, a wife reveals details of their thorny marriage that seem to only further blur the truth.

'Haseen Dillruba' Review

With a massive cylinder blast, the mutilated body of the husband, lover on the run, a widow who is the suspect and a local inspector, played by Aditya Srivastava trying to extract a confession from the suspect in the first few minutes into the film, you feel that 'Haseen Dillruba' is all set to offer you a power-packed crime thriller based out of a small town that will keep you at the edge of your seats. 

Who is the murderer? What transpired before the blast? Will the culprit be found? These are some questions that you will be seeking answers to. 

The film cuts between flashbacks where the story of how the blast happened is unfolding and the present where Rani Kashyap is trying to prove her innocence by giving a lie detector test. 

The film's first 10 minutes will also give you a feeling that there's going to be lots of romance and passionate love-making when Rani Kashyap's character, essayed by Taapsee Pannu, is introduced as a charming young Delhi girl who is apparently susheel (cultured), homely and contradictorily outspoken, boastful of her good-looks and unapologetically sexual. 

You will later realise that the tease was a 'phooski'.

We get a glimpse of Rani Kashyap's above-mentioned traits in the first few minutes of the film when the shy engineer Rishabh Saxena aka Rishu (Vikrant Massey) is seen apprehensively speaking with Rani during an arranged marriage set up at the latter's house. "Waise na aapko bahut accha combo mil raha hai, tan mann ka dhan," a forthright Rani Kashyap is heard telling Rishu as he sips on tea and expresses nervousness with a fake cough. 

However, Rani manages to cast her spell on Rishu and despite his mother's disapproval with an explanation that he won't be able to 'handle' her because of her outgoing nature, Rishu, who falls in love with Rani, at first sight, ties the knot. 

Cut to Rani Kashyap travelling to a small town Jwalapur and struggling to fit in. Add to that a timid husband who is nervous to make or express love. And to top it all, Rishu has no social life and a monotonous routine that involves waking up, travelling to and from the office, doing household chores while he pursues his hobby in homoeopathy. BORING!
 
But however timid Rishu may be, when he overhears Rani talk about their sex life (which hasn't even begun) to her mother and aunt, one can see a different avatar of him. A rather rude and angry one. And so the marital life tensions being. With no sex and social life and a husband who wouldn't even care talk, Rani Kashyap falls for the first muscle-flexing brawny fellow that enters her life. 

Neel Tripathi, essayed by talented Harshvardhan Rane is the ointment to Rani Kashyap's emotional post-martial wound and 'the one' who will satisfy her sexual drive. He is charming, macho, demanding, expressive and does not have a conventional job. To top it, he does drugs. While Rane plays his part well, but he isn't a full-fledged character. He's only a toll with a set of traits used to entice Rani and make her commit a crime (adultery) so that the plot moves on. 

She cooks for him instead of her husband Rishu for the first time since their wedding and Neel takes her for rafting, giving her a taste of the adventurous life she always desired. The two make love and click pictures together. She loves him. He does not. And so, when Rani decides to confess to her husband about her feeling towards Neel, who happens to be Rishu's cousin, the muscle-flexing lad runs away. 

And the story only begins from here. 

Taapsee looks for redemption when she realises how much her 'seedha-saadha' husband loves her despite him punishing her in ways to kill. From intentionally making her fall from a flight of stairs to leaving the gas knob open to let her hand burn, we see another avatar of Vikrant Massey -- that of an obsessive, angry and vengeful lover. She gives it her all and asks for forgiveness. Like a dutiful wife she cooks and bears Rishu's indifference who wants to kill her for the fact, she ruined his life and his reputation. Amid Rishu's attempts to kill, Rani Kashyap falls him. 

The two finally come together and are leading a happy life when they have an encounter with Neel. And again, get to see Vikrant Massey as the hot-headed, revenge-seeking individual who could go to any length. 

The story unfolds rather quickly from here on and it's the last bit that will keep you hooked on if you've managed to survive the rest of the film. 

Massey's good. In fact, he's even great in most parts but has been let down by a script that does not do justice to his talent. Taapsee on the other hand does not bring anything new to the table. From her dialogue delivery to her expressions, it's like watching her in any of her previous films. The supporting characters aren't great either. 

The hero's best friend, essayed by Ashish Verma, has been wasted. The loudmouth mother-in-law and not-so-funny father-in-law don't have much to do in the film and Rane too deserves better. The only saving grace is Vikrant Massey. 

Verdict: It's a mystery thriller that lacks pulp. The cast deserves better.