I can never comprehend what made me do it: and probably I am not designed to either. I can never reason out and explain what pleasure I got from cheating my parents? trust in me (undiscovered till date) and watching this movie. I knew I would never be permitted. I knew I would never be allowed to watch so much as the trailer of this movie: and some of it?s songs figured as vulgar in my father?s censorship policies. But I did it. I confess I did. I repent I did.
But still, now that I have, it doesn?t hurt to write on it, does it?
To classify Murder and put it under a particular tag is difficult. Invariably, our Hindi moviemakers make movies that discuss?shoddily at that?only one issue and revolve around only one central thing. Either the movie is about oomph and brazen show-off?or it is about two really faithful lovers estranged from the rest of the society?or it is about the lives of policemen and gangsters and how their worlds intermingle into a homogenous morbidity. But Murder is neither completely a brazen show-off film, not a story of lovers, nor does it revolve around any central issue as such, at least on the face of it.
So reviewing it comes to me as something of a task. Yet, let us both plunge into discussion as of now. I must clarify?what I shall write is what I shall believe. If you think I believe wrong things, you are more than welcome to point it out. Please do so! If you think you agree with me, you are welcome to support me.
Murder of the Oomph
I am such a fellow that I can never find any appreciation for meaningless and almost distasteful show of skin and immorality. I never find any agreement to the logic that certain movies have plots that logically lead to the more intimate encounters of the lead male and female characters and so it has to be shown. I maintain that there are indirect, sensual and comprehensible, but indirect ways of showing the same thing.
This movie, however logical it might be to display the intimacy of the lady and her lover, contained one, an exaggeration of it, and two, a rather comic display at that! To begin with, it is a subject that does not taste well to our intellect: we can never digest extramarital affairs, though a great deal of people are involved in them (nobody I know is being talked of here). In addition to that, you have this rather new-to-this-society, open and uncensored (mostly) immorality on display. The two concepts merge together and morph into something that is so abominably disagreeable to me that I can never justify it, forget appreciate.
This movie could have had some respect for our society and our (so called, ambiguous) values and could have softened itself in this respect. Almost disrespectful towards my principles, this movie put me off simply for this reason.
Murder of the unfortunate realism
There again, I am touching upon a very sensitive spot. Adultery and adulterous tendencies are something that are abominated, abhorred, disowned and shunned by the teachings of our ancestors. One can argue that while, in olden days, men were allowed to have more than one wife, women were branded from society for having an affair before she was married, forget afterwards, making our abomination for adultery a very gender-specific thing. But then again, we can choose to apply those teachings to the present day?so adultery is an abomination to the society, whether man or woman is responsible.
So to witness a movie that is so frank in it?s depiction of adultery and unfaithfulness is to undergo a disturbing and almost repulsive experience, I swear. Yet, if the news from the world around me is to be believed, it is something our society is not free of. It might not be so exaggerated in proportions. But not all of us can claim unwavering, unfaltering and complete faith to our spouses. Sometime down the lane, we have tread, for an extremely small duration of time, and to an infinitesimal distance, of unfaithfulness. And it is no shame to confess so.
The movie might have things that severely put me off, but what acted as an antidote to that was the fact that the movie also contained rather realistic depictions of the turmoil and devastation that follows such betrayal. One can consider this aspect of the movie, like the previous one, nothing more than an attention grabber. But you and I both know that the society can have to deal with a more inflated version of the present day problem of adultery, and as a remedy to that, this movie might prove useful?at least it shows the devastation after betrayal, which could be a deterrent to those who care for their children.
Murder?the movie
Cast Performance
I did not find anything extraordinary in the cast of this movie. Simply since the two of them were brave enough to undress before camera and crew, I can not call Emraan Hashmi or Mallika Sherawat good actors. Both of them are mediocre artists with mediocre skills. Mallika is also poor in her dialogue delivery, Emraan poor in facial expressions. It?s my opinion.
I did not particularly care for the husband of the character Mallika plays in the movie. Though he was the only one who I sympathized with (call me stupid for that, for laughing out loud), and the only one whose performance did some justice to his role. I cannot congratulate him for it, since I did not like him so particularly much, but I cannot call him names either.
To be more specific, Mr. Hashmi lacks the ability to portray the feelings of a really very outrageous (there is no other word for it) lover. He does not bring those emotions to his face, nor particularly does anything else bring that to my mind. Sherawat has a dialogue delivery that almost completely nullifies her oomph?I am not very old, but I am still nice in these matters, forgive me. Moreover, she has a very peculiar face with the natural expression of a brat gone wild (her roles could have had a role to play in the forming of that impression, though I choose not to accept so). That is again why I did not like her far too much.
Peripherals
Murder had songs that gripped me. The only thing I really liked about the movie was a song here and there. In particular, Kaho Na Kaho? and Kabhie mere saath? had good tunes?hummable tunes, dislikable lyrics for the latter song, please don?t ask me why.
I guess that finishes things up for now.
Conclusion
Murder is a confusing mixture of vulgarity, some little bit of reality and good songs. It is difficult for me to say it was a good movie. Although it could be close to reality, but any movie or book written on marital scandals is only the exploitation of the human liking for sex scandals and erotica. I cannot justify it. I cannot appreciate it. I will not either.
Yet, on the whole it wasn?t as bad as it is said to be. After all, it did have really touching situations in it: of how a mother repents her betrayal of faith to her child, if not her husband.
Please feel free to comment on anything written in this review, however insignificant you think it is.