Monica, O My Darling is a very Andhadhun-esque whodunit thriller that’s sharply written with interesting characters. While it doesn’t achieve the high of Andhadhun, it is quite self-aware and the plot twists left me surprised and actually made sense. The watching experience is further elevated by the great editing and the way music is integrated into the story.
Rajkummar Rao takes the centre stage and he does his usual best, but Huma Qureshi stood out here as she was probably having a blast with this fun character. Radhika Apte’s character is slightly underdeveloped but she remained hilarious throughout the whole film. All in all, this was a through and through fun thrilling experience that I’d been craving for a while now.
Apart from having a banger soundtrack, hottest of the cast, and Vasan Bala’s delicious cinema references, this is overall just one of the best noirs made in Indian cinema. It’s not even surprising that a Vasan Bala film made me laugh and fall out of bed. I love a solid thriller.
Swapnil Sonawane’s cinematography and the sound design deserve a special mention for that perfect retro aesthetic and also some impressive VFX on display. Technically an extremely well made film and even solidly written. So many quirky lines, hilarious twists and good lord that ending.
Of all the pulpy comic thrillers that bollywood has tried in recent years, this one succeeds in entertaining the most. Rajkumar Rao in a role tailor made for him shines and the screenplay even though takes convenient routes stays one step ahead of the audiences. All the needle drops and references are fairly accessible and enhance the experience.
Vasan Bala’s dark comedy works big time and fits in just right with the sequences in the film. I couldn’t stop my laughter when RKR told one character that they need to puncture the dead body or it will float on the water and added that he ain’t a psycho killer but it’s rather physics. He has the same style of Guy Ritchie that we often see in the films of Sriram Raghavan and Anurag Kashyap films in Bollywood.
But what’s underwhelming is the police procedurals, they don’t put in even slightest of efforts in solving the case, investigating or analyzing crime scene but just keeps pointing on people that yup, this is the guy that at one point a police says if they all are dimwits and I thought the way you people are investigating, yes you are. And the way it winds up things near the end seemed rather rushed.
The ending is kind of simplistic compared to the rest of the film but for me it landed perfectly. Vasan Bala single-handedly carrying the touches of Tarantino is gonna save Bollywood occasionally hands down. Also directors smothering their films with pop culture easter eggs got to be our favourite genre. So satisfying and twisted. Easily top 10 of the year.
