Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
Extramarital affairs, domestic violence, counterfeit medicine sales, incest, sexual abuse, theft, murder… the list of themes “The Lady Killer” tries to cover is a big one. And despite a two-hour runtime, the film directed by Ajay Bahl unfolds like a horror movie attempting to bite off a lot more than it can chew. It’s not a horror movie, but the dark, broody shots make you wonder if a few ghosts are going to pop by. In fact, even the title is slightly misleading. “The Lady Killer” makes it sound like the story is possibly about a Casanova serial killer (think Ted Bundy) or just a psycho dude who keeps getting the ladies into trouble, but bechara (poor) Arjun Kapoor’s character, Rajendar Joshi, has the ladies constantly creating problems for him. But it’s Bhumi Pednekar you’ll feel most sorry for, because she delivers an electric performance as the volatile, almost bipolar Jansey Burman, a young woman who gets entangled in a stormy affair with Rajendar.
For the first 20 minutes or so, “The Lady Killer” was sort of interesting, and then things start to go downhill in this hillside thriller. The story is essentially about Rajendar Joshi struggling to run a pharmacy while trying to get a loan approved for a bigger venture. He becomes acquainted with the mysterious Jansey while trying to win favor with a wealthy man in town. As Jansey and Rajendar get closer, a toxic romance brews, in which Rajendar’s scorned ex-girlfriend Gajara (Priyanka Bose) pours in more poison. Caught between his stalker-like crazy ex who wants him back and his crazier new lover Jansey, Rajendar might seem much of a lady killer or chick magnet, but more of a misfortune magnet.
“The Lady Killer” tries to be this dark, broody, serious, mysterious, and steamy thriller, but does everything half-heartedly. The steamy scenes aren’t watchable, the dark-tinted cinematography is kind of annoying, and the dialogues often sound weird. However, Bhumi Pednekar’s portrayal of Jansey, a troubled young woman with a lot of baggage, is the only highlight of this tedious drama.
The two biggest flaws of “The Lady Killer” are that the writers can’t establish Rajendar as a character worth caring about, and there’s very little chemistry between Arjun Kapoor and Bhumi Pednekar, so their instant, crazy, passionate attraction never seems convincing. Each time things get steamy between Jansey and Rajendar, it looks like Jansey is romancing a tree. Their relationship spirals out of control by the end, and a prolonged climax ends things on a tragic note in “The Lady Killer”.
You can watch the film on YouTube.
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