Rating – **** (4/5)
Cast: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Brar, Sarah Jane Dias, Ash Tandon & more
Directed by: Hansal Mehta
Whodunits and the curse that it carries – we have seen such a plethora of whodunits over the years across languages and borders that unless and until the ‘big reveal’ is something that boggles your mind, the impact is always lackluster.
And in such a case, where the mystery isn’t enough to leave you with a satiated experience, the journey and human emotions coupled a taut treatment and scintillating performances need to be enough for you to not care much about the mystery; The Buckingham Murders belongs to the latter category.
Set in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, DS Jasspreet Bamra (Kareena Kapoor Khan) is the new entrant at the station, who has primarily opted for the transfer to try and distract herself from an unfortunate incident that, she just cannot get over with. But as fate may have it, her first case as a detective in Wycombe turns out to involve first the missing and then the murder of the same demon she’s trying to run away with. What follows is a whodunit where people are involved with their own motives and it becomes a question – just who did it afterall?
The premise of The Buckingham Murders might have seemed riveting on paper but in theory, it seems just another whodunit where the ultimate killer reveal is partially predictable – but director Hansal Mehta is aware about it and hence chose to focus on the other aspects to make the journey as riveting, engaging and worthy as possible. Mehta, known for his sleek and concise treatment towards his screenplay adopts the same technique to play around with and never tries to go over-the-top or get overly dramatic – the easiest pit to fall into.
A level of sophistication is maintained throughout and you understand how this would be the best bet to appeal to the global viewers as much as it would to the Indian thrill lovers. In fact, the film is perhaps 60% English and 40% Hindi and understandably so. Most importantly, Mehta and the casting director, Mukesh Chhabra are able to finally break the curse of casting pathetic white actors in roles of foreigners in a Hindi film – more so because the film is entirely set in the United Kingdom. Finally, we have managed to cast good foreign actors in apt roles.
The entire supporting cast is stellar with their characters but the standout is Ranveer Brar, who after his segment in Modern Love: Mumbai once again proves that he doesn’t just cook lip-smacking good but he can also cook up some really good acting chops and deliver a great performance.
And then you have the legendary Kareena Kapoor Khan. Yes, I don’t use the word ‘legendary’ without understanding the gravitas of it. The woman, just keeps wowing you more and more with every performance and every film. The anguish, sorrow, exhaustion, determination and just effortless screen presence Kapoor Khan has – is immaculate and is accentuated time and again with The Buckingham Murders being another example of the same.
The film would have been another average whodunit film if not for Kapoor Khan, and we aren’t even talking about her natural beauty and starry appeal because that’s completely shadowed here. Here, it’s just Kapoor Khan and her glorious best being her glorious best.
The film does enable a few loose ends with parallel storylines that don’t quite lend to the main saga and lack of backstory to Kapoor Khan’s past except the one incident but due to a certain way in which the screenplay propels itself with gradual developments and the extremely forgiving runtime, The Buckingham Murders works more often than not offering you a good experience at the movies.
