Director : Vasan Bala
Platform : Netflix
The title – Monica O My Darling – comes from a famous Bollywood song released in the 1970s. Inspired by the song, the movie has a retro look with a background score heavily influenced from the same period.
Monica O My Darling lies somewhere between a dark comedy and a mystery-thriller. Here we follow Jayant, a tech leader who has recently been elected to the board of the same company. As responsibility comes onto his shoulders, the haters also make themselves apparent. One of them is his personal assistant, who starts blackmailing Jayant to expose their affair. What follows is a part whodunnit and a part get-away-with-murder.
People who expect this to be a tight investigative thrilling plot might get bothered. The story is just compelling enough to keep us hooked and has some decent plot twists spread across the screenplay. The aspect which makes this movie wildly entertaining isn’t the plot twists but its the characters.
While the lead’s (Jayant) character doesn’t leave much of an impression, the female leads turn out to be the film’s backbone. The personal assistant, played by Huma Qureshi, is devious and cunning. Though she is the villain who is blackmailing and conspiring, her character is written in such a way that we empathise with her. She also has some of the best witty dialogues in the movie, making us crackle.
The other character who steals the show is Radhika Apte, the police inspector. This police officer is an accurate depiction with no showoff or sugar coat unlike the police officers we see in Bollywood. Her character is not dumb; she manages to know everyone’s intentions and motives.
Another thing to highlight is that at the time of committing the murder, the lead does leave out a lot of clues. And it seems genuine because he is not a serial killer or a mastermind but a normal person. And for an ordinary person planning to commit a crime, these things ought to happen.
Monica O My Darling is a sincere attempt at making an entertaining movie with well-thought-out characters and genuine writing. The question is: Will I watch it again? No, for sure. But it proves to be a good one-time watch.
Trailer:
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An Indian reviewer who writes about horror and thriller movies/series. If not movies, he likes to pick up a mystery book to read. Some of his favourite movies/series include Stranger Things, Elite (S1-3), Train to Busan, Andhadhun, Strangers: Prey at Night.