The movie cuts straight to the chase, and during the opening song, one discovers that once loved-up, Yatharth Sinha (R Madhavan) and Sanchi Sinha (Khushalii Kumar) are now on the verge of separating. After a fight, when Yatharth goes to work, a Kashmiri terrorist on the run, Haq Gul (Aparkshakti Khurana), invades their home and takes Sanchi hostage. When Yatharth sees this on the news and rushes back to the apartment complex, he meets ACP Harishchandra Malik (Darshan Kumaar) and tells him that Sanchi is mentally ill and dangerous when she has an episode. Sanchi, on the other hand, tries to persuade Haq that her husband is trying to prove her crazy as he's having an extramarital affair with her psychiatrist.
The situation is similar with Haq Gul and ACP Malik, as they give contradicting versions of the former being a terrorist and a bomb blast accused. Throughout the movie, the audience guesses who's telling the truth.
A suspense thriller that relies on situations and dialogues, and is primarily shot in one location, must engage you enough to sit with rapt attention. Director Kookie Gulati's outing leaves much to be desired on this front. The movie becomes monotonous and repetitive quickly, though it picks up pace in the second half when things turn more confrontational. The big plot twist may seem mind-bending only to viewers unfamiliar with the genre; the turn of events is rather predictable. The tracks, characters and backstories are not developed enough to be convincing or impactful.
The above is especially true for Sanchi's character, who suffers from a delusional personality disorder. The audience only has her husband and psychiatrist's word to take for it, and just one incident hints at her condition. There's a scene where Yatharth says that Sanchi can manipulate someone to get what she wants, and that's her mind's vulnerability. Before you can appreciate this perspective, Malik asks if it's vulnerability or skill, and the two men chuckle. This and showing Sanchi as someone who's either manipulative or distressed owing to her condition does a disservice to people with mental illnesses, especially those with personality disorders that are seldom understood adequately.
That being said, as a debutante, Khushalii Kumar pulls off the dichotomous act as a delusional, manipulative and seductive housewife and a volatile woman well. Aparshakti is impactful as Gul and emotes effortlessly whether the character is angry, disillusioned or befuddled and helpless. He does justice to the Kashmiri twang and looks. R Madhavan and Darshan Kumaar are good, but this is neither actor's finest performance.
Dhokha: Round D Corner is far removed from reality and pivots from the conventional form of phsychological thrillers, and not in a way director Kookie Gulati had hoped for.
Round D Corner tries to marry human depravity with the concept of alternative reality, but executed from the standpoint of a child lost in a candy store. The dialogues are cringy, the cinematography is cringy, the script is pointless and the so-called conflicts in the film feel forced and are absolutely hilarious for a psychological thriller.
The situation is similar with Haq Gul and ACP Malik, as they give contradicting versions of the former being a terrorist and a bomb blast accused. Throughout the movie, the audience guesses who's telling the truth.
A suspense thriller that relies on situations and dialogues, and is primarily shot in one location, must engage you enough to sit with rapt attention. Director Kookie Gulati's outing leaves much to be desired on this front. The movie becomes monotonous and repetitive quickly, though it picks up pace in the second half when things turn more confrontational. The big plot twist may seem mind-bending only to viewers unfamiliar with the genre; the turn of events is rather predictable. The tracks, characters and backstories are not developed enough to be convincing or impactful.
The above is especially true for Sanchi's character, who suffers from a delusional personality disorder. The audience only has her husband and psychiatrist's word to take for it, and just one incident hints at her condition. There's a scene where Yatharth says that Sanchi can manipulate someone to get what she wants, and that's her mind's vulnerability. Before you can appreciate this perspective, Malik asks if it's vulnerability or skill, and the two men chuckle. This and showing Sanchi as someone who's either manipulative or distressed owing to her condition does a disservice to people with mental illnesses, especially those with personality disorders that are seldom understood adequately.
That being said, as a debutante, Khushalii Kumar pulls off the dichotomous act as a delusional, manipulative and seductive housewife and a volatile woman well. Aparshakti is impactful as Gul and emotes effortlessly whether the character is angry, disillusioned or befuddled and helpless. He does justice to the Kashmiri twang and looks. R Madhavan and Darshan Kumaar are good, but this is neither actor's finest performance.
Dhokha: Round D Corner is far removed from reality and pivots from the conventional form of phsychological thrillers, and not in a way director Kookie Gulati had hoped for.
Round D Corner tries to marry human depravity with the concept of alternative reality, but executed from the standpoint of a child lost in a candy store. The dialogues are cringy, the cinematography is cringy, the script is pointless and the so-called conflicts in the film feel forced and are absolutely hilarious for a psychological thriller.
