Maarrich Review: Tusshar Kapoor, who was last seen playing a serious character in Hindi film Shootout at Wadala (2013), makes a comeback as a tough cop in Maarrich. To be honest, Tusshar (also the film’s producer) should stick to production; as the film’s lead, he appears to be a total misfit. His awkward dialogue delivery and French beard-like appearance undermine his efforts to be convincing. Movies like this, which are a terrible version of Crime Patrol, should never have been made in the age of cutting-edge OTT content.
The film begins with an accident that happened ten years ago, and years later, two more girls were murdered in their Mumbai apartment. Rajiv, an investigating officer, is on the hunt for the murderer. Will he be successful?
Writer-director Dhruv Lather’s whodunnit thriller is a snoozer. The plot appears promising at first, as it revolves around a murder mystery. But the focus quickly shifts to the protagonist’s “sin and acts of goodness,” and even the entire investigation process is poorly written, causing one to quickly lose interest in the film. On paper, the story might be an intriguing one, but the dreary screenplay makes you yawn throughout its lengthy runtime. The character arcs are poorly sketched; they come and go randomly on-screen, making it difficult for viewers to connect with them. It’s funny, though, how the creators believe viewers are both dumb and blind. For example, when the anonymous killer cuts off the power to Sushmita’s (Rajiv’s wife, played by Anita Hassanandani Reddy) house, she says, “Light Chali Gayi.”
It’s unfortunate that Naseeruddin Shah, a seasoned performer, was wasted on such a script. And it is incomprehensible why he agreed to sign the film in the first place. Even Anthony, played by Rahul Dev, and the rest of the cast don’t contribute much to the drama. In an attempt to inject some humour, Himanshu Kohli’s Gambhir as Rajiv’s sidekick tries far too hard but fails miserably.
The songs only serve to prolong a film that is already difficult to watch due to its 126-minute running time. Some unwanted sequences, like Rajiv imposing himself on his pregnant wife, irritates you even more. The film would have been slightly better without them.
Honestly, Maarrich is nothing more than a Crime Patrol episode, with the exception that the show wraps up the case in under an hour, whereas this film is dull and drags on far too long. Skip it!
