A great fiction can be produced by getting inspired from a true incident. After all, the writers of suspense and murder mysteries often based their stories on what they saw in their lives. However, director Manish Gupta goes one step ahead and narrates a true occurrence, giving it some fictional touches. The result is a brilliant product! The Stoneman Murders works big time thanks to the wonderful direction and a shocking suspense.
The story of the movie: September 1983. Mumbai (then Bombay) gets rocked by a series of killings. Interestingly, only beggars, street dwellers and urchins were killed and that too in and around the Sion-Matunga area of the city. On the other hand, Sanjay Shelar (Kay Kay Menon) is suspended and Inspector Kedar (Arbaaz Khan), Sanjay’s rival, is made in charge of the area. Sanjay was confident that he could trace the killer and requests his senior, Satam (Vikram Gokhale) to give him one chance. Satam permits Sanjay to carry a parallel unofficial investigation on the murders. During the course of the investigation, Sanjay succeeds in getting hold of many clues about the murderer. To find out who’s the killer, what is his motive and whether Sanjay succeeds in nabbing him, watch the film!
The Stoneman Murders starts with a bang (literally!) and keeps one engrossed from start to finish. The interrogation scenes of Kay Kay Menon were excellent. In between, the film also has some spine chilling moments, making the film a perfect thriller. The intermission point was terrific.
The 2nd half also keeps one on the edge of the seat. The best scene of the film is undoubtedly the scene inside the subway. Wonderfully executed! The last 10 minutes of the film was truly a roller coaster ride! The suspense shocks! And when you feel the film is about to culminate, comes another twist in the story! Brilliant work by Manish Gupta!
On the flipside, there were some questions that were left unanswered. And some steamy scenes were added unnecessarily. But Manish Gupta deserves brownie points for his excellent story and fast-paced direction. The movie is just 100 minutes long. The culmination of the film was most apt, considering that the stoneman murder was never solved.
The entire film was on Kay Kay Menon’s shoulders and he performs wonderfully! He has always done a great job in all his films. Although he irritated a lot in Drona, he’s back in form with The Stoneman Murders! Watch out for him in the subway scene and also in the sequence wherein he boards in a moving train and then jumps off it! The daring actor did the scene himself, even though a body double was available! Excellent job, Kay Kay!
Arbaaz Khan was completely natural, but he didn’t have much to do in the film. Rukhsar as Kay Kay’s wife was perfect. She’s a great actor and deserves to get more roles. Vikram Gokhale gives a splendid performance. Virendra Saxena as the constable was terrific! He gets better towards the climax! Others were good.
Siddharth-Suhas’ music was strictly okay. There are 2 songs in the film-Qaatilana (unnecessary item number) and ‘Sooni Rah Pe’. The duo’s background score was captivating and scary in some scenes too. Srikant Naroj’s cinematography added to the thrill. Pradyuman Kumar’s action was excellent.
Manish Gupta’s deserves a pat for his excellent story, though it in inspired from a real life. The twists that he added are worth appreciating. Screenplay was highly engrossing. Direction was undoubtedly first-rate. A great debut, indeed!
On the whole, The Stoneman Murders is an excellent thriller. It has a wonderful suspense, which will surely shock you! If you aren’t interested in this week’s mega release Billu, watching The Stoneman Murders would be a good option!