Movie Review: Murder 2 (Hindi) 134

‘Murder’, the 2004 flick was about crimes of passion. But this one has nothing to do with the first and is more of a thriller about a serial killer on the loose, a guy who can remind you of Buffalo Bill from ‘The Silence of the Lambs’. A bit of google search seems to suggest that the movie is inspired by the Korean film ‘The Chaser’.

Serial kisser Emran Hashmi plays Arjun, an ex-cop with hands deep into Goa’s crimeworld. When a pimp finds that his girls have gone mysteriously missing, he hires to Arjun to investigate. Our hero seems to be his last resort since the police establishment is too busy investigating high profile cases and can’t be bothered about a few missing call-girls during the festive Christmas & New Year season.

A trap is laid out and a teenager Reshma played by television actress and debutante Sulagna Panigrhi is sent as bait. Arjun zeroes in on Dheeraj Pandey, a mentally deranged with past about his gender preferences. But the cops can’t hold him in custody without evidence and seek Arjun’s help to gather evidence to nail him. His race against time to save the last victim forms the remainder of the movie.

And then of course, amidst all of this, there’s the romantic track of Arjun and Priya (Jaqueline Fernandes) in the background finding a meaning to their relationship. Both of them lack the chemistry making this look forced and added only for sleaze value.

The plot has numerous holes. For one, it’s odd that a pimp who keeps records of his clients and girls is not able to connect the dots and trace the missing girls it to the same phone number. Also, there is deluge of bloodshed that makes it darker is not complemented by acting talent worsened by some awful writing. What you get as a result is a film that is just over two hours long but seems to drag on forver.

Emran Hashmi has clichéd and repetitive lines that he mouths with a deadpan expression often associated with his act. The Lankan beauty queen turned actress Jaqueline Fernandes is equisite but acting is not one of her skills. Prashant Narayanan though steals the show with his bone-chilling performance as the villain.

But, one cant write-off Murder 2 just as yet. As usual with Bhatt camp, its songs come to its rescue. Songs like ‘Haal-E-Dil’, Yana Gupta’s item number ‘Aa Zara’, ‘Aye Khuda’ and ‘Phir Mohabbat’ played in the end credits are worth listening to.

The name ‘Murder 2’ is a misnomer since there is no continuation in the story, characters or locations. Just as this flick, the Bhatts had done it before with ‘Raaz 2’ merely to hitch a ride on the successful flicks that preceeded the sloppy sequels.

So, is it worth watching Murder 2? Definitely not! But it’s another story altogether if you want to watch its songs on the big screen or gaze at Jaqueline Fernandes.

Rating 3/10: Pointless movie salvaged only by its songs