Andhadhun: An Unconventional Game of Hide and Seek. 

The mastermind behind movies like Badlapur, Ek Hasina Thi and Agent Vinod strikes yet again. This time, it’s another riddle of a movie – AndhaDhun. Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu and Radhika Apte play lead roles to ensure that the film delivers as a definite and intriguing masterpiece in every way.

The Movie:

Inspired by a French Short film L’Accordeur (The Piano Tuner), Andhadhun will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning till the very end. It is one of those thriller movies that you would certainly not expect from Bollywood, at least. Despite the biggest suspense of the film getting revealed very earlier, you will still be glued to the screen predicting the movie, and when you finally think that you have figured the plot and that you can predict it finally, the plot will change and this will continue till the very end.

The Characters:

The characters in Adhadhun, atypical of Sriram Raghavan’s films, explore the dark, yet comical side of every ordinary human. 2018 has been a year of unconventional hits, and who else to play the lead better than Ayushmann who has carved his career in unconventional films. He once again, explores and experiments to give his career best. Ayushmann plays Akash, a blind piano player,, who shadows his life behind his melodies. Akash ‘accidentally’ meets his love interest Sophie – played by Radhika Apte. Sophie is an energetic young girl who offers Akash a gig which leads him into meeting a yesteryear star Pramod Sinha, played by Anil Dhawan.

Pramod invites Akash to his house for a private concert for him and his wife Simi, (Tabu). Simi’s personality mirrors a chameleon, with multiple layers and colours to one character. It is a marvel to watch Tabu as she outshines her performance in each and every layer, playing the parts to perfection. This super-charged performance is delivered with a mastery that we have been missing in onscreen performances since a very long time.

The Direction:

Although the story line revolved mostly around Akash,  Sriram Raghavan managed to breathe life into each and every character, to the point that each dialogue and each role served a purpose in the movie..

Be it the beginning of the film that shows a rabbit chase, and that takes you back to the craft of Coen brothers for sure, Raghavan masters the twists and turns  in plot to time every action in the movie.

You can actually feel the tension onscreen with the characters as each situation unfolds. This movie will teach you to unearth humor in the most unexpected places. You will catch yourself laughing at events that are not meant to be laughed at for sure. At the same time, the story continues with such clarity that you will soon lose a sense of fiction vs reality.

Watch the trailer below.

The Music:

Coming to the Dhun of AdhaDhun, the soundtrack by Amit Trivedi deserves much praise. It is mellow, and from the very beginning, you will feel at ease, so much so, that even the most shocking events in the movie will seem to hit you as a light breeze. Music carries the narrative so cleverly that you will not encounter horrifying or excessively jarring sounds to indicate any event in the movie.

The Craft:

The duration for AndhaDhun is 138 minutes. But believe me, the film will feel more like 30 minutes. Time flies by as you are drawn towards the flawless editing and cinematography by Pooja Ladha Surti (who also is the co-writer), and K.U. Mohanan.

VERDICT:

I have already watched the movie twice and if you knew me personally, I would have recommended it to you too probably. The first show that I watched on Friday, was actually pretty empty, but when I went back again on Sunday, it was a houseful. The movie did very well over the past weekend all around the world. It’s not every day that you get to experience cinema masterpieces such as Andhadhun. Which is why you should not miss watching this film in cinema as long as it stays on screens. Just a heads up, in order to do justice to the story line, make sure you don’t miss the very beginning and the very end! 

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Anum

Anum holds a Bachelors Degree in Media Arts from the University of Karachi, Pakistan. She passionately pursues a career in freelance film-making and content writing.

Anum has worked with Ideas by Gul Ahmed, SIUT and Sukoon. She plans to launch her own web channel one day.

Her Motto in life, in her own words: “Live in the moment, as it will pass, like everything else in life!”