Khamosh

Loved the story and has some stalwart actors like Amol Palekar who pull the weight. But the production is so poor. Really fuzzy camerawork, and so many dialogues hard to understand that lead to unnecessary plotholes! Could have been a cult movie but failed due to poor production!

Having heard comments from a few friends and users that this movie is the best thriller from Hindi movies, I was curious to watch it. Other reason was the plethora of star cast which had names like Pankaj Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Amol Palekar. But when I watched, sadly the thriller part was missing. Many of the suspects ham so much and have very clear objectives that you get a feeling that they are not the actual murderers and most likely the one not amongst them is the culprit. Mystery was not that good and I am saying that despite of not watching any other language movie from which this movie could have been inspired.

What stands apart and as an appreciation is the performance of the investigating CBI officer by Naseeruddin Shah. Right from his entry the eyes, facial expressions and body language depict that he is not taking this murder just as any CBI officer's routine investigation. The way he tries to investigate the murder is shown very well and seems realistic. No wonder that Sir Naseer is the best actor ever to come from India.

Rest of the cast(names I mentioned in my first para) do play their part with full honesty especially Pankaj Kapoor. Direction wise the movie is OK but some elements like the shooting of the rape scene really does not fit in the actual plot. At some places the comedy seems to be forced and puts a dilemma as whether viewers should chuckle or see the tragedy which goes on in a movie shooting.

Overall, watch it once and get engrossed at the first time. Need not have a repeat view to enjoy the mystery part.

Khamosh being a murder mystery it had a bit too many people in the movie, at least known B-grade actors. Naseeruddin Shah's hype as a good actor fell flat for the umpteenth time in his career. He can be rated as a poor actor, his role could have been played better by Om Puri who looks more strict. Amol Palekar as usual towers among the the other cast of the movie, he delivers sensible dialogues & is an integral part of the storyline. His expressions were of a shaken man is what a movie goer can carry with himself when a person gets fixed in an incident like in the movie. Realistic expressions make an actor worth taking note of and the movie worth watching. Khamosh is a must watch for suspense thriller fans.

I opted to put a serious review on this film as I felt it deserved a better review than the casual ones I found in the internet. First of all it is film ahead of its times. In the 1980's making a suspense thriller with such a well knit plot, without any typical Hindi film song & dance and a great climax was a magnum opus by itself. Directed by one of the best Indian Commercial film directors of recent times- Vidhu Vinod Chopra the story is build around a Hindi film shooting scenario. There is inter personal rivalry and tension between the crew members. During shooting of the film, members of the unit gets murdered one after another. Suspicion falls on all and sundry and ultimately the CBI Inspector (Nasiruddin Shah)solves the crime in a superb climax. Amol Palekar & Shabana Azmi does justice to their talents alongswith other cast. Pankaj Kapoor is brilliant in his small role as Kuku. Nasiruddin Shah is brilliant as usual. Overall It is the best suspense thriller ever made in the Hindi Film Industry.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has created a very Hitchcockian thriller. I liked the idea that the whodunnit story takes place among a films cast and crew as they are shooting on location. Chopra's reference to films like 'The Godfather' and 'Psycho' were quite funny. 'Khamosh' isn't as much a thriller as there's a lot of humour.

While a few of it is unintentional, there's also plenty of satire. I especially enjoyed the humour that took place in the shooting scenes. For instance, the sequence where Shabana delivers her dialogue to Amol while lifeless hand keeps bumping on her foot and she's completely unaware of it.

Some sequences were out of place and it appears as though Chopra just put them in for the sake of thrills. One such example is the scene where Shabana finds a drenched in blood dead chicken in her bed. It's also very easy to figure out that the lead suspects were not the actual murderers and after some time one can easily figure out who it is. Plot holes are also apparent. For example, why would Shabana go to the houseboat all by herself at night when there's a murderer on the loose?

At the same time, it's great to watch such an excellent group of actors work together and I was interested in how the director would choose to conclude the film. Pankaj Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi and Amol Palekar are first rate. Azmi plays the Hitchcockian heroine with class and poise. Shah does a fine job as the fiery detective determined to solve the case. Palekar is cast against type and he is superb even though he has limited screen time. Soni Razdan does a decent job while the rest of the cast range from average to bad.

Overall, 'Khamosh' may not be an out and about thriller it tries to be but it's entertaining nonetheless and I think it even has good repeat value.