Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante

The Director draws inspiration from Hollywood films, however, his attempts to add a twist to the story ends up making it too melodramatic. The best part is Irfan Khan playing Krish, one of the three wronged kidnappers, who has a mix of desperation and cool reserve. The rest of the characters are not great, the pace is slow and the story is a bit predictable. However, there are some thrilling sequences between actor Irrfan and director Konkona which are worth watching. The movie works in bits and pieces, but it ends up being unbelievable. This is a movie that tries too hard to have a conscience and it's a big mistake.

~ P. X.

A group of three persons kidnap a child of a rich man. That makes a tense situation. They start demanding money from the parents of the child. This makes the viewers anxious and curious to know what will happen next moment. How will the kidnappers behave, and how will the victims react? The trauma of the victims is clearly expressed. The kidnappers find that everything is not going according to their plans. There are complications involved that they had not anticipated. Their frustration and attempts to solve the problems also engage the viewers. Near the end, there is a twist in the story. All the actors have done a great job. The photography is good, and all the scenes look fresh and attractive. It is a one time watch.

Well, who cares? 'Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante' does get into action right from the start as it shamelessly rips off Luis Mandoki's 'Trapped'. Tanvir Khan pretty much copies every scene and even so, the execution is poor because it's made on a very low budget as a result of which it perhaps isn't as slick as it could have been. The cinematography does not do much to help. The absence of songs keeps the pace steady. The only thing that stands out in this hackneyed film is the acting. Konkona Sen Sharma does a fine job of a young Indian modern housewife and mother who is held hostage at her own house while her daughter's abducted and her husband himself is a hostage. Sandhya Mridul is spot on. Irfan Khan is wonderful and Rajit Kapoor and Zakir Hussain do very well. The child actress is horrible as she tries to copy Dakota Fanning (who was also awful). Overall, 'Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante' is a banal thriller. Tanveer Khan just proves to be another Bollywood hack.

It was a good movie , not bad at all , good performances by Konkona & Irfan Khan in the movie

Disregarding its originality (or lack thereof), I really wanted to watch it mainly because of the cast, which includes talents like Irrfan Khan and Konkona Sen Sharma, among others. For me, this movie was an extremely enjoyable thriller. The film was benefited from its taut execution and the proceedings followed a fast pace. Atypically, the movie is devoid of songs and too many emotions, and it is towards the second half when an unexpected story twist turns the film into a conventionally emotional drama of sorts. From then on it was a bit predictable but then again the movie as a whole keeps you at the edge of your seat. It is aided by the good casting, and every actors plays his part very well. Irrfan Khan is fantastic as the evil kidnapper and he is even better towards the end in the flashback scenes. Konkona is very fine and convincingly plays the worried mom in a role that would have been a weepy caricature in the hands of a lesser actress. Sandhya Mridul is outstanding, while Rajit Kapoor and Zakir Hussain play their respective parts exceedingly well. The film's ending is rather sugarcoated and well, it just grew increasingly melodramatic towards the end so no surprises there. Though unoriginal and far from being perfect, Deadline: Sirf 24 Ghante is good entertainment.