Haseen Dillruba movie Review: It is literally an intimate tale built on fantasy and surprisingly, Taapsee Pannu and other cast’s talents fail to woo the audience in Vinil Mathew’s romantic thriller that is neither romantic nor very thrilling just a lot of chaotic and lustful component. The film is out on Netflix.
Brief Review, the Writer Who was Expected to Write a Masterpiece
The first few minutes of Haseen Dillruba are so hectic and hard to get through that it almost demanded some sort of an interval. A guy dies, there’s a wedding, and Kanika Dhillon gets an unconventionally flattering credit. And the story doesn’t get any better from here.
A childish and cartoonish cautionary tale about the factors of arranged marriage and this is among the most disappointing factors of the film.
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Storytelling factor gone missing
Haseen Dillruba | Image Credit: Hrishikesh Kannan
The movie misses out the fact of straightforward storytelling in Haseen Dillruba; it’s an assault on all senses, including that of the common kind. The film clocks in at a little over two hours. But due to the lengthy and chaotic storytelling it feels like ages.
Taapsee’s Portrayal as Rani- “the bored housewife”
Taapsee Pannu as Rani | Image Credit: Twitter
Taapsee Pannu’s portrayed as a bored housewife named Rani is all over the place and is messy but manages to live up. In one moment she’s the standard Taapsee Pannu-type, the baddie and brash but somewhat endearing, and in the next, she goes stunningly off-brand, and literally begs a man to accept her. It’s a jarring shift, considering how Rani had been presented in the movie.
Rishu- Is he Toxic or is he Faking it?
In the film’s opening moments, Rani gets introduced to Rishu, the latest in Vikrant Massey’s seemingly unending streak of playing toxic young men who hide behind a face of innocence. Like his co-star, Massey’s a good actor, but severely let down by a script that alternately empathises with Rishu and then points fingers at him for being a pathetic human being.
Vikrant Massey as Rishu | Image Credit: Netflix
Needless to say, they don’t hit it off immediately. It’s a marriage of compromise, and director Mathew devotes far too many minutes of screen time to their clingy attempts to get comfortable with each other.
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Harshvardhan’s Manly Energy, was it Necessary?
Virtually nothing happens until the script rolls in Harshvardhan Rane into the mix almost exclusively to add the spice to the plot. He plays Neel, who is designed as a polar opposite, personality-wise, to Rishu. Neel isn’t a character; he’s a set of character traits; a manifestation of an inciting incident; a waste of Rane’s considerable screen presence.
Harshvardhan Rane as Neel | Image Credit: Netflix
He happens to be everything that Rishu is not; essentially the male equivalent of the stock ‘strong female character’ that many screenwriters cluelessly create to cast a spell. Neel doesn’t have a conventional job, he is sexually playful, and he does drugs.
One time watch, but at your own will
The film comes across as a compromise, as if it was wrenched away from the team behind it, and severely edited until all of its false edges and chaotic vibe had worn off. This is not ideal, considering that being edgy was probably its mission statement.
In conclusion, Haseen Dillruba takes such a burden around the halfway mark that it never recovers. Although, in fairness, it was barely standing on the edge before it decided to drive off a cliff. Everyone involved in the movie is capable of performing better as they have had in their past respective careers.
