Due review: Vidya Balan’s film is criminally dull

Niyat directed by Anu Menon is a desi version of the whodunit genre knives out But with very thin plot. Looks like the makers wanted to make an Indian version of Knives Out and the end was in sight but there was nothing in between, or the suspense which is the main part of a crime thriller. We see Vidya Balan asking everyone about their motive while the film itself forgets that it even needs a motive or a plan.

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Niyat begins with a very elaborate and comical introduction to the cast of the film. While it manages to get a few laughs, it mostly suffers from poor comic timing, which is a pattern throughout the film. The film follows the story of Ashish Kapoor, a very wealthy businessman who decides to organize a birthday party for himself among his close friends. However, minutes later we get a glimpse that everyone including the host AK is lying and hatching a conspiracy, behind which is the police of the entire country, to loot Rs 20,000 crores from Indian banks. The media puts him on a media trial as seven people associated with his company have committed suicide.

Meanwhile, AK hatches a plan to prove his innocence. He invites a special guest for his party and later reveals that it is actually Meera Rao, a CBI officer who is about to arrest him and take him back to India. This announcement is not liked by others in the house and chaos ensues. Also, while all of this takes place in a remote Scottish castle, they are cut off from the world when a storm hits the country. It only takes several moments for the bodies, including the dog, to start dropping and the power is cut.

Vidya Balan in the role of a cop leads the film and tries to assess the situation, and most of what she and everyone else around her do in the second half of the film is understandable, but it’s hard to watch the entire film. Only later, which makes the first part pretty boring. Despite the revelation at the end, the film has several loopholes in the plot which they are in a hurry to explain with the full story at the end.

The screen play has many exciting twists and turns, if given more time on paper and better execution, it could have been a great experience to watch on screen. Each character has a well thought out introduction, a motive and a plan, there are good moments when the actors take things into their own hands but mainly the editing and direction falls short for everyone. Even a talented actress’ cameo feels stiff and forced, in contrast to her other performances, which come across effortlessly despite her screen time.

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Vidya Balan’s acting comes across as forced at several moments as the characters don’t gel well together. Meanwhile, Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora and others give their best but only do the bare minimum for their characters.

Overall, while Niyat comes with some interesting twists and could have a bright future, it is better to leave it for its current state.

Cover artwork by Patrick Gawande/Mashable India