Murder case that unmasks diaspora

A grieving mother is tasked with the responsibility of solving the case of a missing child. Can she overcome her personal pain and unravel the mystery objectively? Will her loss cloud her judgement and stand in the way of the job assigned to her? But, isn’t this world full of hate and prejudices anyway?

As Hansal Mehta directs a murder mystery inspired from Kate Winslet-starrer ‘Mare of Easttown’ and as Kareena Kapoor Khan turns a co-producer as well as plays the lead part of cop Jasmeet Bhamra, ‘The Buckingham Murders’ can’t possibly be just another whodunit. And it isn’t. Nor is it just another poignant story of a single-mother British-Indian whose son has been shot dead, but looks pointedly at the South Asian community and their concerns in foreign lands. The story unfurls in the UK, which has only recently been engulfed in riots.

Communal tension is bristling… amidst the tense backdrop, the body of a child is discovered in a car. The accused is a 19-year-old cocaine-snorting young boy of a community many of us love to hate. An eyewitness pops up and in 48 hours, the case is solved. Open and shut… or is it?

As is with most murder mysteries, what meets the eye is never a case in point. The needle of suspicion points in many directions, enhancing the mystique factor. The usual suspects — a former drug dealer and the victim’s father, Daljeet Kohli (Chef Ranveer Brar) — are the probable red herrings. If drug problem is a running thread in the film, so is patriarchy, domestic abuse, revenge and more.

Immigrant issues are multifarious in the city of Buckinghamshire, where Jasmeet has sought a transfer. Can the change of place prove to be a coping mechanism? Her very first case has the potential to trigger her even more. Only, she is incensed by what she feels is a cover-up and digs further.

With each layer of mystery, Mehta unpeels deep-seated societal attitudes and biases that we nurse within. Though the film is gripping, twists and turns abound, but Mehta does not care to overtly thrill or offer any kind of vicarious pleasure. Certain plot points of course have by now become de rigueur in Indian cinema and Mehta, who gave us the powerful and stirring ‘Aligarh’, can’t resist the temptation of bringing in an expected angle. Besides, much before it is revealed in the film, you do have a sneaking feeling and can smell the rat. And when the cat finally comes out of the bag, you are not as stumped as the makers intended the revelation to be.

More than the big reveal serving as an indictment of patriarchy, the sting of Kareena’s slap on the face of Ranveer resounds with greater echo. Who gets to decide who is fit to be a mother?

Kareena as Jasmeet, resolute in her quest for truth yet hurting all the while, stands out in this de-glam avatar. In the very first scene, we see the sorrowful her (the lines on her face only adding to her beauty) and in a way, that sets the sombre tone of the narrative. Blending angst, anguish and empathy, she adds both gravitas and emotional heft to her character, torn and tormented yet no less gritty.

Ranveer Brar, the celebrity chef who we have recently seen making occasional acting forays, finally gets a meaty role, one he can truly chew upon. He becomes this overbearing Punjabi boor with conviction and ease. The casting of other actors, especially Ash Tandon as Jasmeet’s senior officer Hardy, is on point and all other characters seem real. The city of Buckinghamshire’s cinematography by Emma Dalesman captures the mood deftly, and appears as a lived-in place, home to migrants. And not the touristy picturesque UK we are so used to watching in Hindi cinema.

In treatment or in storytelling, Mehta does not go for the jugular and the screenplay by Aseem Arrora, Raghav Raj Kakker and Kashyap Kapoor, though somewhat undone by a foreseeable turnaround, packs in more than the obvious. Releasing in two languages, Hindi and Hinglish, we would recommend the Hinglish version for greater authentic experience. But, for once, foreigners speaking in Hindi do not stick out like a sore thumb.

The film not only offers a new palette to the mystery genre, but is also a welcome addition to its addictive grammar.