Tarkieb (2000)

Bollywood really can't do thrillers. Except Sriram Raghavan, of course (Jai Sriram to one man ONLY). But seriously, Hindi filmmakers learnt once that the person most unlikely to do the murder is probably the murderer and they never looked back since. The leaps this movie takes to fulfil this particular trope are baffling, to put it kindly. The final revelation does a complete u-turn on the female lead's personality (I'm so sorry that you had to go through that, Tabu) for no rhyme or reason, and it is even more painful to watch considering that just two scenes ago, the movie had finally started to get interesting. I am, of course, referring to the blind man bit. There is zero nuance in the ending, which leads to zero catharsis and lots of frustration, the two things you most certainly do not want from a mainstream thriller movie. Bah. 

The only saving grace is the song "Kiska Chehra" sung by my fav Jagjit Singh and Alka Yagnik, picturised beautifully on Tabu and Milind Soman. I really only watched the movie because I am lowkey obsessed with the song (and also because I want to watch all of Tabu's movies, let's be honest), and well. At least I have one good memory from the movie. Also, none of the jokes landed, which is a pretty impressive feat considering how half the movie seemed to be Nana Patekar trying to be a funny lad. And I hate saying this but I wish the movie had more of Shilpa Shetty, especially with Tabu, because those two had amazing chemistry. Fuck you, Esmayeel Shroff, for depriving me of that. And also for wasting white-hot talents like Tabu and Ashutosh Rana. Such a disappointing drag.

In conclusion, I am proud of my commitment to exploring Tabu's filmography, and that's it. Also, rip @ Jagjit Singh, miss you everyday. :(

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