The Buckingham Murders

I attended this film with my usual crap shoot selection system. I suppose that this film could have a token Manhattan release given the city's diversity. Producer Kareena Kapoor Khan plays Jaspreet Bharma, a British-Indian detective overwhelmed by grief after her young son's murder. She accepts a demotion just to move and gets to Buckinghamshire. Of course, upon arrival she gets a missing boy case, the adopted son of Daljeet (Ranveer Drar) and Preeti (Prabhleen Sandhu). She refused it, but if that went through there would be no film. KKK is a star back home. But her British accent is not great and she is a poor runner. Drar is pretty good as the anguished yet misogynist father. He has a very sexy mistress to help drown his sorrows. Adwoa Akoto is nice eye candy as Bharma's fast friend on the force Sharon Marks. The true killer has a very weak motive and their identity truly comes out of left field. It felt unwarranted and bizarre. We get to see a lot of the Muslim community and how estranged they are from the mainstream. I felt that this film does what most film goers want. It kills time, but that is about all. KKK's fans will be happy to see her on screen. But the screening only had about a dozen people, three of whom were Indian. She ultimately was not much of a draw.

Bollywood's 'Mare of Easttown'.....? Not sure if that's high praise on this film or that's an unfair comparison, but if you're into the mood for a crime thriller, you might want to check this out.

Kareena and the support cast do a good job. The film is well shot, the color correction stood out for the amount of green in the film. The plot - you can tell that they tried hard to subvert; you know the most obvious person with the motive isn't the real bad guy and that the predictable part in this film. You know someone else will eventually be the focus, and that takes (at least took away for me) the viewing experience, but you may feel otherwise and actually enjoy the film more.

Will recommend for a one-time watch regardless, if you like the crime thriller genre.

It's set against a backdrop of cricket-related antipathy between South Asian Muslim and Sikh immigrant communities in Buckinghamshire. A young man named D'Ipsheet goes missing. Apparently he was a helluva cricket player because his disappearance soon threatens to boil over into all-out war between Muslims, Sikhs and confused Milton Keynes Dons hooligans. Fortunately strident lady cop is on the case to untangle a web of deception, drugs, forbidden gay romance and official corruption. But can she parse the evidence objectively in the aftermath of her own son's death during a mass-casualty firearm attack by a homeless maniac?

I dunno, and who cares? The United Kingdom has outlawed (inter alia) firearms, violence, homelessness, firearms violence by homeless people, drugs, the forbidding of gay romance, religious antipathy, religion, bad attitudes, free speech and football hooliganism. Thanks to the U. K.'s bold and entirely effective legislation, we can all rest easy knowing that nothing in this movie could ever, ever actually happen. At least not in Buckighamshire. Maybe in Texas.

This movie which was a Whodunit was an average movie with lots of twists and turns until the very end. These cat and mouse themed films can only be really enjoyed when everything is in sync viz.very good script,acting direction &editing as there is no glamour to help when another section is lacking Unfortunately this film ticked all of the boxes except the acting. Since this was a very low budget movie besides Kareena there were no other stars which was perfectly understandable &acceptable. However the acting of the junior staff was in sync with the budget,low or at best average! If they had some brilliant performances,it would have lifted the movie a great deal as it had a very good script but this did not happen!

6/10.

The Buckingham Murders has a strong plot and an intriguing storyline that pulls you in from the start. It weaves a suspenseful narrative that keeps you hooked until the end. The cast delivers commendable performances, and the film shows high production quality. However, it's difficult not to notice a recurring trope in Bollywood: the inclusion of religious tension, specifically between Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh communities. This time, the addition of these elements felt forced and detracted from an otherwise solid thriller.

It's understandable that art sometimes reflects social realities, but in The Buckingham Murders, the handling of these themes felt stereotypical and added unnecessary weight to the story. The portrayal of certain groups, particularly in a negative light, came across as a cliché, diminishing the film's uniqueness and seeming like a repetitive, almost predictable approach seen in other Indian movies. This kind of treatment might appeal to some audiences but for others, it can feel heavy-handed and repetitive.

If the film had focused solely on the mystery at its core, it could have been a remarkable addition to the thriller genre. Instead, the attempt to add layers of religious and communal strife ends up detracting from the narrative. This movie would have stood stronger without these added stereotypes, which risk overshadowing the well-executed plot and skillful acting.