Poison worth tasting

Poison worth tasting: My quick take on “Halahal”

A cold-blooded murder, followed by cover-up, getting declared as a suicide instead of a homicide, botched up post mortem report, shoddy police investigation…….. does this ring a bell !!!

No, I am not talking about the current tripartite high-profile case investigation taking place in Mumbai. I am talking about the latest web movie released on the OTT platform (eros Now). It is about a murder being of a girl being dressed up as a suicide, but the father of the girl (played by Sachin Khedekar) putting his foot down dismissing all suicide theory/s and is hell-bent on proving all agencies wrong. Father seeks the help of a corrupt but committed police officer (played by Barun Sobti).

Mind you the writers behind this brilliant plot are the guys who had written Gangs of waseypur. Let me take the liberty of declaring that the real hero of the story is its ‘writing’. This could be a step towards breaking the myth that we need a “star” to fill in the box office coffers. One could not have imagined an unassuming “Marathi Manus” (Sachin Khedekar) playing the main lead effectively. His depiction of a hapless but committed father was a class act. The same can be said about Barun Sobti, this TV star has given some outstanding performances lately (remember Asur). OTT platform is proving to be a befitting anti-dote to the industry’s nepotism virus. Its indeed “acche din” for a talented breed of actors to prove their metal.

Apart from the writing and brilliant performances, one more good thing about the movie is its ‘short’ length & the crisp editing. Though I am not convinced about the climax as it is a bit unconventional and (it is not the usual good winning over evil kind of end), overall the movie is watchable.

This ‘Halahal’ is worth tasting.