Monica O My Darling

2022 - 11 - 12

Post cover
Image courtesy of "Variety"

Huma Qureshi, Rajkummar Rao, Radhika Apte, Vasan Bala on ... (Variety)

Director Vasan Bala's third feature 'Monica, O My Darling' is one of the marquee titles of the year for Netflix India.

But this character has no remorse whatsoever, for absolutely anything that she does – to enjoy that and still be at peace.” Like the femme fatale portrayed in that song, or indeed, in many noir films, the Monica in this film aims to be a survivor. Next up for Apte is spy thriller “Mrs. [Radhika Apte](https://variety.com/t/radhika-apte/) (“Raat Akeli Hai”) plays the police officer in charge of investigating the case. “Survival is across the human race, across genders, anyone in his position or her position would just do whatever it takes. So, the fun is in that spontaneity.”

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Image courtesy of "Hindustan Times"

Monica O My Darling review: Tries too hard to impress (Hindustan Times)

Monica O My Darling review: Rajkummar Rao, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte's performances aren't enough to save this Vasan Bala thriller. | Bollywood.

And I don't see a point in making a film so predictable that the number of scenes and twists that you can predict actually make you want to give yourself a pat on your back. With Monica O My Darling, slightly better direction in terms of where the story is headed and how it was narrated could have helped its case. Comfortable in her skin, she absorbs the character to the T. Dialogues that Bala has co-written with Chandekar are quirky, peppered with comic tone, perhaps the high point of the film that can qualify as a dark comedy. Average because the moment it was revealed at the film's teaser launch that Andhadhun director Sriram Raghavan was to helm the film but Bala took over after five years, one expected a similar experience. Or at least that's what you'd like to believe until you actually sit through and watch this 2-hour-10-minutes long film and realise that it's so Bollywoodised that you just can't get over the plot twists and predictability of events, which make this Vasan Bala directorial a fun yet average watch.

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