Dhokha review: R Madhavan and Khushali Kumar deliver a strong performance in a loose thriller drama

Film: Dhokha: Round D Corner

Director: Kookie Gulati

Star cast: R Madhavan, Khushali Kumar, Aparshakti Khurrana and Darshan Kumaar

Bollywood Bubble ratings: 2.5/5 stars

Dhokha: Round D Corner movie review:

Suspense thriller movies always entice me. It only makes me wonder ‘what will happen next’; however, I didn’t feel the same while watching Dhokha. Everything seems to be an open book and hence, it gets easy to predict in the first half of the film itself.

Since the story is about a delusion wife who creates scenarios in her mind and considers them to be true despite the evidence. On the other hand, a husband is trying hard to treat his wife and take care of her. But it’s not necessary that what we see is true. There are multiple layers of truth and lies in the movie; however, it is shown in a sleazy way. And that’s when the story takes a serious hit.

The story didn’t convince me or I couldn’t even resonate with the characters and the setting. Everything seems hurriedly put together. The one thing that completely caught me off guard was the love story angle. It will make you say ‘Ye kya ho raha hai’ as it seems quite off and was absolutely not going with the plot of the film.

In these suspense thrillers, there’s always a strong motive behind the person doing the wrong things but I’m not sure if the motive behind the lead characters makes sense to me. It is quite bizarre to know the reason behind it.

Story: 

A married couple leads a happy life who only had each other to fulfil each other. However, their marriage is all hunky dory and their life goes into turmoil when the wife accuses the husband of having an extramarital. A delusional housewife name Sanchi has a personality disorder and is taken hostage by a terrorist on the loose. A husband named Yathaarth is doing everything in his power to ensure that his wife is safe from the terrorist. But both have different stories to narrate but they have their own versions of reality. How do we know who’s telling the truth? Dhoka Round D corner is a tale of lies and harsh truths.

Star performance: 

R Madhavan essays the role of Yathaarth Sinha who leads a happy life with his wife Sanchi in the city of Mumbai until he finds out that his wife has a delusional disorder. He does a fantastic job in his professional life but there’s more to him than it meets the eye. He has a layered character that only gets peeled off as the movie progresses. Maddy does a fab job as he plays his part with the utmost conviction. With intense gaze and vulnerability, Maddy is a par excellence actor.

Khushalii Kumar makes her Bollywood acting debut with Dhokha where she plays Yathaarth’s wife Sanchi Sinha. Yet another complex character with multiple layers that only gets complicated the more we see. Khushalii does a fair job for her debut film, nothing much to complain about here.

Aparshakti Khurrana plays the terrorist Haq Gul in the movie. I have always seen him playing a goofy or a comical character and I have loved him in those. This time, he tries his hand at something new and I was a little excited to see his character but sadly, it didn’t come out impressive. As he is shown as a Muslim person, his lingo is quite confusing, I was having difficulty understanding it. Talking about his performance, Aparshakti who has a lot of potential and capabilities was lacking in this character. Not sure if his character was poorly written or his performance.

Darshan Kumaar plays the role of an inspector who handles the crucial situation. Darshan does a commendable job with his strong presence. With an actor like R Madhavan standing next to him, Darshan stands his ground and shines in his part.

Direction/Screenplay:

Kookie Gulati, director of Dhokha, tries to showcase an intense suspense thriller but sadly, it didn’t seem hard-hitting. Yes, it is quite a riveting plot and would have surely grabbed my attention but it is the execution that took a serious hit. I couldn’t connect with the movie because if you’re showing a suspense thriller, there has to be some seriousness and that was lacking in this movie.

Conclusion: 

Overall, Dhokha: Round D Corner could have been an interesting watch but lacks intensity. Despite a riveting plot and strong performances, R Madhavan, and Khushalii Kumar starrer offers a loose thriller drama. Even the strong performers couldn’t save the lacklustre film. A suspense thriller that gets predictable in each frame of the film. I’m going with 2.5 stars because of R Madhavan and the director for bringing out a gripping plot for the audience.

Watch Dhokha: Round D Corner trailer after the review: 

 

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