Niyat's Story: When an exiled billionaire mysteriously dies at his birthday party in a Scottish castle, his family and friends are the prime suspects, all intent on killing him. CBI officer Meera Rao has to use her skills to solve the murders.
Destined Review: A Gothic Scottish castle overlooking the sea, a stormy full moon night, a murder with several prime suspects - each with a clear motive and a clumsy but intelligent CBI officer trying to solve the mystery; At first glance, director Anu Menon's Hudunit seems to do a lot to hold the audience. The thriller starts off well as colorful, exiled billionaire Ashish Kapoor (Ram Kapoor) and his rich posse gather for his birthday party. These include his best friend Sanjay Suri (Neeraj Kavi) and his wife Noor Suri (Deepannita Sharma), sister-in-law Jimmy (Rahul Bose), spiritual healer and tarot card reader Zara (Nicky Walia), girlfriend Lisa (Shahana Goswami), son Ryan (Shashank Arora), and niece Sasha (Ishika Mehra). You can tell everyone is off Magnet, and even those not in his inner circle, events manager Tanveer (Danesh Rajvi), secretary K (Amrita Puri) and Ryan's girlfriend Gigi (Prajakta Koli) have something to hide.
Among them is an unlikely participant. CBI officer Meera Rao, who is there to extradite Ashish, ends up investigating his murder. Meera is the flamboyant genius who can deceive, knows her chemistry and is a keen observer. What happens next is not unlike a murder mystery—skeletons coming out of closets, trap doors, tons of mystery and then some. While all the components are in place, the film fails to execute. Meera is served with all the clues on a platter – characters discussing secrets when she's two feet away from them and gaining consciousness, socks in the dark, carelessly hidden papers peeking out behind the bathroom mirror, etc. Cinematography by Andreas Neo, art direction by Lydia Moss and overall treatment of the film is good. But the plot thins as the mystery unfolds; Things seem too convenient and clichéd in many cases. Some of the loopholes are hard to ignore, and the long list of characters to investigate also means the pace slows down and the narrative drags at times.
Vidya Balan delivers a decent performance as a brainiac officer described as a walking encyclopedia. We have seen Vidya Balan in better form (in other films) but this is far from her best performance. Ram Kapoor delivers a fine performance, be it as a notorious and scruffy business tycoon, a frustrated father or a grumpy man. Rahul Bose is loud and incredible in his party-hearty no-gooder act. Shashank Arora stands out as the junkie and troubled boy and his dialogue timing is impeccable. Neeraj Kavi and Niki Walia also deserve a mention.
The film is worth a watch for its perfect performances and its stylization. It also offers several haunting scenes. But for a thriller, the movie deserves a tighter script, more suspense and surprise elements thrown in. But we still need it
