DETECTIVE NAANI Review

Film: DETECTIVE NAANI Banner: Bombay Duck Films Cast: Ava Mukherji, Zain Khan, Ankur Nayyar, Hemu Adhikari, Atul Parchure, Hemant Pandey, Sanjeeva Vatsa, Shubhangi Gokhale, Jaywant Wadkar, Sanjay Singh, Goolshan Mazd, Billimoria, Mohit Chouhan etc Music: Romilla Mukherjee, Jolly Mukherjee, Shailendra Barve Cinematography: Sanjay Kapoor Director: Romilla Mukherjee Producers: Romilla Mukherjee, Jolly Mukherjee, Urmilla Chatterjee Release Date: May 22, 2009 Story: A smart tale with unwanted length, the story begins on the backdrop of the Gulmohar complex where a strong, independent Naani (ava) lives. The story takes a turn when she spots a girl (saili shetty) from one of the apartment windows and that flat actually belongs to a childless couple. Naani smells something fishy and her suspicion turns out to be true as there is an element of murder that involves here. The mystery grows larger and Naani is helped by some of the residents while some of them are indifferent. Finally, she ropes in the smart CID officer Bhatia (ankur) but then he is not convinced with Naani's point since there is no evidence. With no other choice, Naani takes up the role of a detective and starts investigating the whole mystery with her own experience and wits. What happens from there forms the rest of the story. Presentation: The director has attempted to come up with a gripping tale of suspense and though her presentation was neat, the narrative could have been crisp. The dialogues were sensible, the script did not have many loopholes, the screenplay was apt. Music could not make much of an impact and the songs were unnecessary distraction. Cinematography was effective and editing was much needed at many places. Other things like the costumes, art department and locations were suitable to the theme of the film. Ava has come up with a remarkable performance and she has given a lot of life to the role, Zain Khan was neat, Ankur Nayyar was a revelation, Hemu Adhikari was okay, Atul was alright, the others did not have much to contribute, they just came and went. Conclusion: Though the theme of the film was well thoughts, the makers should have focused on sticking to the point instead of diverting from the main theme. While the first half goes about with some unwanted romance and disturbance from the kids, it is not until the second half till the momentum picks up and the climax is worthy. The film would have been a lot better if the length was cut short but then this must not be viewed like a perfect murder mystery. One has to get to the range of kids to get a better feel and enjoy those moments. This may not be a shiner at the box office but it would appeal to few sections of the audience. Rating: 2/5