Just when we thought double roles were passé, along came Vardhan Ketkar with Gumraah, featuring Aditya Roy Kapur as identical twins. Kapur is arrested by cops Mrunal Thakur and Ronit Roy, who are investigating a murder.
Trouble begins when another suspect, who resembles Kapur, is brought to the police station. The whodunnit is a remake of the Tamil film Thadam in which Arun Vijay played the double role. It was one of the commercially hits of 2019.
Gumraah, however, fails to impress because of its predictability. The good boy-bad boy drama is nothing new and neither is the sad backstory of the protagonists. And the climax is not only predictable but also chaotic and rushed as the film skips timelines.
Mrunal Thakur, who recently gave an all-hearts-winning performance in Sita Ramam alongside Dulquer Salmaan, plays a no-nonsense cop. But her role falls flat as the film advances as she maintains the same stone-faced expression throughout the film.
Liggi fame Vedika Pinto plays one of the twins’ love interest.
Kapur tries to carry the film on his shoulders and plays his part to the T but the overall execution and the storyline fail to impress. Gumraah is yet another addition to his string of flops. Kapur, who has portrayed Rahul Jaykar in Aashiqui 2, Avi in Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and Noor in Fitoor with flair, needs to be wiser in his choice of scripts.
At a time when people go to theatres only to watch quality and larger-than-life films, Gumraah is, at the most, an OTT watch.
Film: Gumraah
Language: Hindi
Director: Vardhan Ketkar
Cast: Aditya Roy Kapoor, Rohit Roy, Mrunal Thakur, Vedika Pinto and others
Rating: 3/5
