An exceptional suspense thriller with an unusual narrative, unlike other edge of the seat thrillers, this one has a narrative never seen before in hindi cinema.
Talaash is an psychological suspense thriller. During the course of investigation of an accidental death of a superstar Inspector Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) experiences an inner guilt of the loss of his son.
The case turns into a life altering chase for Inspector Shekhawat when he is forced to reel under the repercussions of a broken married life with wife and come face to face with his suppressed grief of drowning of his son.
In recurring outbursts of anguish, Shekhawat visualizes various options he could have taken to avoid the accident. Shekhawat is simultaneously engrossed in the investigation as well as the “I could have done this … or that…” which could have prevented his son’s accidental death.
The film begins with a car accident leading to the death of a high profile star. Inspector Shekhawat buries himself in grilling the suspects, formulating various reasons or motives which lead to a dead end.
Thís leads to disturbances in his married life. He comes home late, visits the red light areas of the city to gather clues which could help him in the case. One night while on his usual rounds, he is approached by a sex worker Rosy (Kareena Kapoor) who immediately strikes an interest in his mind. Rosy adds further mystery to the puzzle and being an honest husband and a no-nonsense cop, Inspector Shekhawat never thinks of taking advantage of this hooker.
Yet he feels drawn towards her and this leads to a fond bonding between him and Rosy. This issue adds to the loneliness in his wife Roshni (Rani Mukherjee), who is also struggling to overcome the grief of loss of her son. Roshni finds some solace in her neighbor Frenny (Shernaaz Patel), a widow who connects to her lost husband’s spirit. Frenny then provides evidence to Roshni that her son wants to communicate with his parents.
Inspector Shekhawat doesn’t approve this theory of communicating with loved ones who have left this world. He insists on Roshni to stay away from that lady and at one time, Roshni confronts her husband and in a most natural and dramatic outburst about how she is struggling to overcome the grief in her life since as a mother she too has lost her son.
Meanwhile the tempting hooker Rosy instills further mystery in the course of Shekhawat’s trail of investigation of the cause of the superstar’s death. In yet another incident, a pimp is shot in the midst of a fair, which leads to new threads which seem to lead to the same investigation, however adding further intrigue and ambiguity.
Most of the scenes are shot in red light areas of Mumbai. Talaash explores Mumbai’s underbelly like never before.
The film has accomplished actors like Aamir Khan, Kareena and Rani. Rani Mukherjee is brilliant as the grieving mother striving hard to come back to normalcy in her life. Those moments when she feels lonely and her confrontation with her husband appear extremely normal.
Aamir Khan sparkles as a cop yet again, but unlike the cop he played in Sarfarosh, he is superb in this matured role of an investigating inspector. And then it is Kareena Kapoor who plays the hooker – Rosy / Simran. Any male would die to get ‘hooked’ for a life-time with this hooker. In one word – OUTSTANDING.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui sparkles yet again as a limping pimp and then there is Raj Kumar Yadav the ‘efficient’ subordinate to Inspector Shekhawat.
There are some frequently occurring moments where one feels this thriller losing pace Maybe its because the director wants to properly establish the characters or explanation of the unfolding of an unexpected incident / murder in this absorbing mystery-drama.
Overall, Talaash has its moments of tension, conspiracy and suspense. The mystery is so deftly portrayed that one would want to see the film second time to put together the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle.
Cast:
Aamir Khan – Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat
Rani Mukerji – Roshni Shekhawat
Kareena Kapoor – Rosie
Raj Kumar Yadav – Sub Ínpector Devrath
Shernaz Patel – Frenny
Nawazuddin Siddiqui – Tehmur
Vivan Bhatena – Armaan Kapoor
Pariva Pranati – Soniya Kapoor
Credits:
Producers – Aamir Khan, Farhan Akhtar, Ritesh Sidhwani
Director – Reema Kagti
Story & Screenplay – Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar
Background Music – Ram Sampat
Choreographer – Caesar Gonsalves
Costume Designers – Rushi Sharma, Manoshi Nath
Music Director – Ram Sampat
Lyricist – Javed Akhtar
Editor – Anand Subaya
Cinematography – Mohanan
Action – Abbas Ali Moghul
Dialogues – Anurag Kashyap
