Rating : 2.5/5
Genre : Thriller
Year : 2019
Running time : 1 hour 57 minutes
Director : Prakash Kovelamudi
Cast : Kangana Ranaut, Rajkumar Rao, Jimmy Shergill, Amrita Puri, Amyra Dastur
Kid rating : A, R
Kangana is Bobby, a voice-over artist with a serious wannabe-heroine vibe. She also has had a tragic past, which has led to various neuroses – she’s the very definition of eccentric, to put it mildly. When a chirpy, very-much-in-love couple move in next door, and Bobby crushes on the husband, you know that bad things are a-coming for the Mrs.
So I’m going in expecting another Kaun, but Kaun it is not. Judgmental Hai Kya is a valiant effort at the psychotic-murder-mystery genre, and it does start off well. But it wanes, and how!
Maybe I’ve had my fill of well-done English films of this genre. Maybe it is that post-intermission the film gets predictable. Maybe it is that the characters explain themselves too much, it is all laid out for you to see, no guessing required.
Ranaut and Rao do well – there is none better to play a crazy, unhinged character than Kangana – but they can’t help the poor execution. The supporting cast is good too, but alas! They can’t do much either. Director Kovelamudi can’t build the tension, or inject the required amount of nail-biting suspense into the movie. There is no sinister undercurrent, no dark presence of evil like there should be.
What is done well is portraying the schizophrenic aspects of Kangana’s life. But that trippy, smart depiction aside, Judgmental doesn’t quite cut it. The 2.5 stars are for trying.
Kidwise: Not gory, but scenes of violence involving blood and sharp objects.
