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My Wife's Murder
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'My Wife's Murder' Riveting

By N K Deoshi
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Jijy Philip’s directorial debut My Wife’s Murder is innovatively fresh and captivating movie that takes you into the mind of a frazzled man who ends up killing his wife accidentally.

The movie stars Anil Kapoor as a husband who is constantly harried and persecuted by his bickering wife. An actor whose potential has been denied credence in the recent years, Anil Kapoor delivers an exceptional performance in My Wife’s Murder.

He

plays Ravi Patwardhan, a simple, middle-class man who works as a video editor to provide for his family, consisting of a wife and two kids. He often works extra hours, meeting the deadlines. Under him is his assistant Reena (Nandana Sen), a dutiful, beautiful girl with respect and reverence for her “Ravi Sir”.

After grinding away throughout the day, Ravi, like any ordinary mortal, seeks peace of mind that, for an unfortunate husband like him, is not to be found in the limited comforts of his confined home, thanks to his forever bickering wife Sheela (Suchitra Krishnamurthy) who keeps accusing him of having an illicit affair with Reena, his assistant.

Sheela is a woman who has little emotional consideration for her tired, worn-to-a-frazzle husband. Her vocabulary has choicest of expletives for Reena and her inexhaustible energy for complaining leaves no room for the elusive quiet that Ravi longs for.

In one such spat, Ravi loses his composure and hits Sheela. Her head hits the sharp edge of the bed and she collapses. She dies instantly, leaving Ravi in shock and disbelief.

Should he call in the cops? No! Who will take care of the kids? Should he conceal the murder? Yes! But how? Before Ravi could get things straight in his head the doorbell rings. He must act fast before the maid or the kids get home.

My Wife’s Murder grips you right from the beginning and keeps you hooked until the very climax, which, though a tad Bollywoodish, is the credible denouement to this finely written story.

The movie’s script has finesse. The dialogues, straight out of life, also carry the weight of things that are not said but are implied. The background music and sounds complement the movie’s story well enough. The cinematography by P S Vinod is excellent.

Jijy Philip makes an impressive start with his first movie. Unlike the trend nowadays, he does not let ‘style’ take precedence over the movie’s story. Him having learned the ropes of filmmaking under the maverick Ram Gopal Varma (the movie’s producer), there are some shades of Varma’s style that are visible in ‘My Wife’s Murder’. Still, it would be unjust to detract from Philip’s credit what is rightfully and deservingly his.

The movie would not have been as gripping had it not been for the refined, restrained and meticulously etched performance by Anil Kapoor. The actor wears the weary and frazzled look to such a conviction that makes it easy to identify with his character’s inner turmoil resulting from the confused mess of unfortunate situations.

Suchitra Krishnamurthy looks perfect as the annoying wife. Her dialogue delivery carries a strong hint of taunt and sarcasm. Although her role in the movie is just for initial 20 minutes or so, she does make enough impact for the viewers to sympathize with the weary protagonist, Ravi.

Nandana Sen offers nothing stellar but she breezes through her role with relative comfort. One thing noticeable about her performance is the way in which she brings out (or rather conceals) the simmering sparks of affection for her “Ravi Sir” beneath her respect and veneration for him.

Another noticeable performance of the movie comes from Boman Irani who plays a cop on the trail of the protagonist. As a man who speaks in muted tones, expresses through his smirks and glances, Boman gives a performance surely worthy of praise.

All in all, My Wife’s Murder is worth the time and money spent. The movie has a fresh story, excellent acting performances and good direction.

Interesting.

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