Rahasya
Year: 2015
Director: Manish Gupta
Cast: Kaykay Menon, Ashish Vidyarthi, Tisca Chopra, Mita Vashisht

The unexplained murder of a Delhi-based dentist couple’s teenager daughter Aarushi Talwar and the events that followed must count as one of the most discussed and debated mysteries in India. Manish Gupta’s Rahasya definitely borrows many elements from that real life incident.  The same film-maker had earlier made The Stoneman Murders, an interesting film based on a similarly high profile real life case.

What’s the plot?

A high profile doctor couple’s (Ashish Vidyarthi and Tisca Chopra) teenaged daughter is found murdered in her bedroom. When the maid discovers the dead body, the girl’s father is sleeping in his bedroom and her mother is away on a professional assignment. The man-servant of the house, who is missing from the same day, becomes the first suspect. But then hell breaks loose when the cops arrest the father for this heinous crime. The complex case is handed over to a top CBI investigator (Kaykay Menon), who starts to find out that there is much more to this case than what meets the eye. As he tries to get to the bottom of the matter, a strange chain of related killings throws the investigation wide open. Who is behind these multiple murders?

What’s hot?

·        An intriguing plot inspired by a well-known contemporary real life mystery.

·        Plenty of twists and turns along the way.

·        The main protagonists are all excellent actors and that gives the edge to the film.

·        Kaykay Menon is simply riveting in his portrayal.

What’s not?

·        After keeping you hooked for most of the film, the film-maker fails to provide a satisfyingly shocking finale tying up all loose ends. The Poirot-styled climax and the final resolution seem cooked up and that negates the interesting build-up.

Verdict

Rahasya is definitely one of Bollywood’s better-made whodunits. The implausible unconvincing climax though takes away a lot and it leaves you feeling cheated!

Rating

2.5 stars