Review : The murder-mystery gone wrong : ‘Koi Jaane Na’!

#KoiJaaneNa Rating: **1/2, The lockdown forced everyone to stay indoors and for entertainment many turned to international films and shows which exposed them to the standards of ‘making’ and story-telling, Suspense-Horror genre being the hot favourite as per the survey. In this scenario Indian films which claim to be mystery-thrillers are in for a setback. As it is Indian films have never, barring a couple of films, successfully handled mystery-suspense drama. But different filmmakers keep trying this genre periodically. Debutant director Amin Hajee’s ‘Koi Jaane Na’ falls into this category. Though it could be termed as a well made movie, it is full of flaws too. Hajee has written the story which starts off well but to incorporate ‘everything’ in it spoils the plot. He seems to be confused as what exactly to be incorporated and has suggested a sequel to it too.

Kabir Kapoor (Kunaal Kapoor) is an author who belts ‘Do It, You Can’, type motivational books. He is under a contract with a publisher to write it’s second part but fails to deliver it even after the loss of a couple of years, for which the said publisher sues him. His wife Roshni (Vidhya Malavade) has left him and with the help of the publisher wants to destroy her ex-husband for which she hires journo-cum detective Ricky Rosario (Amin Hajee). Struggling in life, dejected Kabir heads to his ancestral home in Panchgani (hill station in Maharashtra). On the way he meets bubbly Suhana (Amyra Dastur) and both starts liking each other and sing a couple songs apart from smooching each other in front of a police officer. It is given to understand the Kabir writes murder mysteries like ‘Maadiya Aur Main’ for nefarious publishers to make a quick buck. In fact a couple of murders in the hilly town resembles modus operandi used by the characters from his novels. The police officer Tanvi Sonavne (Ashwini Kalsekar) steps in to solve the case wherein Kabir is the main suspect in the murder of journo Rosario and his assistant still photographer Chandrakant (Sameer Khandekar). There is Bindiya (Neha Mahajan) too, a house-help, who is attracted to Kabir and is always around when strange things are happening. The story moves from one suspect to another to zero down on the main culprit which may be a shocker for many.

The first part of screenplay keeps you engrossed but the writer loses the plot in the second half. It is utterly confusing just as the director seems to be. He has tried to incorporate unnecessary things which dilutes the plot and makes it uninteresting. Director shows spark in a few scenes but overall fails to offer gripping film. Music is good but the songs would have been dealt with in the first part itself so that they do not hamper the pace of the film in the second half. Background score is unnecessarily loud at places which could have avoided. The many characters’ role are unexplored, especially Atul Kulkarni and Neha Mahajan’s. Kunaal Kapoor and Amyra Dastur’s selection is justified and they try to give their best to the film. Amyra, who has an infectious smile, oozes positivity on screen and in one of the scenes emotes well too. Kunaal Kapoor looks convincing in parts. Make-up department should get thumbs-up for Kunaal Kapoor’s various looks. Ashwini Kalsekar delivers the character with the required punch and so does Atul Kulkarni though his abilities are underused. Same is the case with Neha Mahajan who has done a good job despite backing from the script. With her expressive face and good looks she compels everyone to notice her. Dialogues are sparkling at some points are bright and Amin Hajee has grabbed best ‘filmy’ dialogues for himself. He is impressive in the character of Rosario. The highlight of the film could be an ‘Item-Song’ by Aamir Khan and sensuous Elli AvrRam.

Suspense-Mystery movie lovers will enjoy ‘Koi Jaane Na’!