Neeyat Review - Bollywood's Messy Ode To Murder On The Oriental Express & Knives Out

Anu Menon's Neeyat brings together an ensemble cast of Vidya Balan, Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora, Shahana Goswami, Neeraj Kabi, Amrita Puri, Danesh Razvi, Prajakta Koli, and others for a whodunit. It's not a big deal to understand the similarities between Neeyat and the above-mentioned Hollywood thrillers since the pattern is not just inspired but literally similar. Agatha Christie's novel "Murder on the Orient Express" got a cinematic adaptation in 1974, and even before that, we had William Powell's "The Thin Man" series in the 1930s. Our much loved James Bond, aka Daniel Craig, brought us a humorous detective in Rian Johnson's "Knives Out" (2019), and Neeyat constantly reminds you of that film, be it premises, patterns, or conflicts. The characters differ, of course, and then we have a so-called big twist in the climax, which reminds you of Adivi Sesh's Evaru (2019), a remake of the popular Spanish thriller "The Invisible Guest" (2016). Neeyat serves as a complete mix of all these films but still messes up a few things with its abnormal and hateful characters that let the thrill factor down.Millionaire Aashish Kapoor, aka AK (Ram Kapoor), invites all his close friends and relatives for his birthday bash at a massive castle he has built on a remote island. It is learned that Aashish committed a big scam of Rs. 20,000 crore and ran away from India, which caused the suicide of eight innocent people. AK declares that he is going to surrender himself to the Indian authorities before all his friends, and the next moment we have a CBI officer, Mira Rao (Vidya Balan), knocking on the door. Mira joins the party and soon begins a game of killing. Mira is asked to solve the murder mystery, and she begins an investigation that has everyone under her radar. Interestingly, everyone has a motive for murder, so it becomes more difficult to find the murderer.Neeyat is highly influenced by Knives Out when we talk about humour. Like I said, the characters differ because they belong to different places, types, and localities. So it's more like Knives Out getting translated into Indian culture, but in a Foreign country (why?). I don't understand why many Hindi movies are trying to be urban with Gay and Lesbian characters in the mainstream zone. You are cutting yourself off from the masses with this, don't you realise that? Neeyat also has a few problems with the conflicts that aren't accurate as far as practical sense is concerned. Guess what? While watching the film, a lady next to me was predicting the next scene so easily. A 2023 thriller cannot be this predictable, guys. We need smart writing nowadays to attract audiences, not some copy-influence-paste stuff. At least not in thrillers, even if it is okay with masala movies.

Vidya Balan is by far the best actress in Bollywood in the last 16–17 years (since her debut), but her tremendous potential is not getting its due at the moment. She can do much better than this, and she needs to understand what her calibre is. I personally feel so bad when I see Vidya Ma'am doing underwhelming projects and choosing roles that don't do justice to her stature. Mira Rao is just another passable one from her, and I really want her to go back to that perfect zone of hers. Ram Kapoor's millionaire is sported as a duplicate of Vijay Mallya, and it's visible from the looks and everything. Where was the Ram Kapoor we all know? He is still somewhat decent, but he is not himself, and that's what I regret. The supporting cast of Rahul Bose, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora, Shahana Goswami, Neeraj Kabi, Amrita Puri, Danesh Razvi, and Prajakta Koli is strictly okay, while some of them have done far better in their previous roles.Neeyat is an honest attempt to bring Hollywood's much-hyped humorous detective drama into the Hindi cinema industry. But the tactics and technical aspects haven't been good enough to make a decent film. What you love the most about Knives Out is the humour; what you love most about Agatha Christie's novels is the suspense, a whodunit drama, because they feel original when you see them in those movies. Neeyat is far from originality except for that climax twist, which I'm sure you won't like (not the twist, but the backstory behind it), and that's why it becomes predictable and boring. The editing is below par, the VFX work is disturbing, the cinematography is typical, and the production design is half good, half bad. No matter what other mediocrities Anu Menon has made or makes, I will remember her for a super sensible film like "Waiting" (2016). Where is that genius Anu now? That's all I want to know. Neeyat is not smart, not even original, and not at all exciting. A thriller has to feel like a thriller, and I barely had a moment of chest-thumping suspense. Maybe copying too much made Neeyat lose its own existence. So, as a whole, it was an honest ode to known detective dramas, but it certainly got messy.