Project: Dial 100
Lead Cast: Manoj Bajpayee (Senior Police Officer Nikhil Sood), Neena Gupta (Seema Pallav), Sakshi Tanwar (Prerna)
Direction: Rensil D’Silva
Ratings: 3 stars
The job of a police officer is never easy. It’s certainly not as ‘glamourous’ as how it’s generally portrayed in stereotypical Bollywood movies. They are all about being quick on their toes and having the ability to react fast to emergency situations to save mankind. But what happens when saving someone comes at the cost of putting your own family’s life in danger? Puzzled already? Director Rensil D’Silva explores in ZEE5’s Dial 100 to give you the answer
The movie unfolds on a rainy night when senior inspector Nikhil Sood begins his duty in Mumbai Emergency Control Room. He’s stressed and troubled by the never-ending calls he receives from his wife Prerna (Sakshi Tanwar) regarding their teenage son Dhruv. Nikhil finds it hard to focus on work and that’s when he simultaneously receives a call in the control room from an uncanny woman (Seema Pallav) whose last wish before suicide is to speak to him. Completely unsettled and baffled by the call, Nikhil starts prepping to become the ‘knight in shining armour’ in the life of the hysterical caller. However, he is completely clueless about the fact that his efforts to save Seema will simultaneously mean that he is jeopardizing his own family as it will once again give his haunting & blood-curdling past a chance to demolish his present. But will he be able to win the race against time to connect the dots together? Will he be able to actually identify the caller and save the life of his family? No spoilers allowed.
What We Liked: Manoj Bajpayee and Neena Gupta are like a breath of fresh air in this 1 hour, 45 mins movie. Manoj successfully adds multiple layers to his character of a failed ‘family man’ who is absolutely hitting the bull’s eye when it comes to his job as a police officer. Neena Gupta, on the other hand, has surprised one and all in an engaging way as she absolutely slays in her character of Seema Pallav. Just like Manoj, she gets it right from the very first frame as someone who’s highly peculiar and bewildering yet successfully manages to make you empathize with her as a bereaved mother seeking cold revenge for the untimely demise of her son. Sakshi Tanwar as Prerna manages to impress with her limited screen presence.
What Could Have Been Better: Too many twists and tales within a short span of time can often go wrong and that’s exactly the case here with Dial 100 as well. The writing disappoints to a great extent as it takes almost ‘light years’ to get to the actual point of the narrative which is actually predictable to a great extent.
In a nutshell, this Rensil D’Silva directorial rides high on amazing, captivating performances but fails to make much of an impact due to the faltering storyline. So, if you are someone who’s looking forward to binging on a short thriller with the mindset of enjoying spellbinding performances, Dial 100 will not disappoint you. Go watch it.
Ratings: 3/5 stars
