Gumraah movie review: Aditya Roy Kapur-starrer is a drag

Name: Gumraah
Director: Vardhan Ketkar
Released: 2023-04-07T11:31:17+05:30
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Mrunal Thakur, Ronit Roy

Gumraah movie review: A remake of the Tamil-language ‘Thadam’ (2019), Gumraah again raises the question why Hindi films are choosing to remake such recent films, especially when the originals are easily available on a streaming platform.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Gumraah movie review: Why are Hindi films choosing to remake such recent films, especially when the original could just as easily be available on a streaming platform?

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Gumraah movie review: Aditya Roy Kapur-starrer is a drag

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The brutal murder of a young man is a puzzle for the cops assigned to the case. Inspector Shivani (Mrunal Thakur) is the kind of brisk no-nonsense policewoman who barks orders at her underlings, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly, even if it is her senior (Ronit Roy). Who can the killer be? Is it the clean-cut Arjun or the low-life Ronnie, both played by Aditya Roy Kapur in a double role.

The chief question that comes to mind while watching ‘Gumraah’, a remake of the Tamil-language ‘Thadam’ (2019), is this: why are Hindi films choosing to remake such recent films, especially when the original could just as easily be available on a streaming platform? It’s almost like there are no original ideas left in Bollywood, given that last week’s ‘Bholaa’ was also a remake of the 2019 ‘Kaithi’, also in Tamil.

I haven’t seen the original, so I can’t compare the two, but ‘Gumraah’ is nothing but a drag. Nothing either of the suspects do — Arjun who romances his perky colleague (Vedika Pinto), nor Ronnie who hangs out with his pal (Deepak Kalra) — evoke the slightest bit of interest. The key conflict arises from the fact that both men are dead ringers for each other, so which of the two was it who raised the sharp object and stabbed his victim multiple times?

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Other questions arise. Why would the perpetrator wear a blinding yellow raincoat, a colour that can be seen a mile afar? How does he escape without said item of clothing not being splashed in blood? Why do policewomen in Bollywood flicks sport the kind of ponytail which can only be created with such finesse by a hair-dresser? Why is ‘Chaddhi’ such a popular name for the hero’s BFF?

Actually, you know what, chuck it. Figuring those answers isn’t worth my time. Nor was the film.

Gumraah movie cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Mrunal Thakur, Ronit Roy, Deepak Kalra, Vedika Pinto
Gumraah movie director: Vardhan Ketkar
Gumraah movie rating: 1.5 stars

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