Nikita Roy Review: A very superficial thriller that wants to look supernatural!

Nikita Roy Review: A very superficial thriller that wants to look supernatural!

‘Nikita Roy’ - Nikita navigates the mystery with such a bland energy that the mystery ends before the film does!

Nikita Roy, marking the directorial debut of Kussh Sinha, had a tagline which read "The Book of Darkness" which was removed by the makers as the film straddled two postponements of its release.

As I sat through the butt-numbing two hours, hat-tipping my endurance, I figured that darkness is certainly a consistent phenomenon in this film. It keeps the mystery in dark, it keeps its protagonist in dark and it keeps the audience in dark! The book finds an unworthy mention only in the penultimate minutes.

Author turns investigator to uncover her brother's mysterious death in London which is discarded as a suicide squashing further probe by both police and detectives.

Nikita (Sonakshi) suspects foul play in the death of his brother, Dr Sanal Roy (Arjun Rampal, wasted!) with the needle of suspicion pointing to the leader of a cult Amar Dev (Paresh Rawal) helming a foundation based on faith and mystic superpowers, in direct loggerheads with Sanal's IRF - The International Rationalist Community!

The terms may sound fancy, the locales may look pleasing and the premise may sound interesting, but Kussh Sinha's merits ends at taking a stab at an offbeat territory because the scheme of things unfold in a wobbly and inconsistent manner.

There is light at the end of every tunnel. But Nikita Roy doesn't dare to explore the tunnel. It just makes a flimsy, farcical effort - meting out a weak storytelling with a potent ensemble that never bursts.

 

Crippled by poor writing, Sonakshi's performance never quite sails. Her Nikita remains permanently under a psychotropic influence.

Paresh Rawal is a fine actor but here, the sinister eludes him. Amar Dev, the miracle worker, largely remains a caricature for its superficial conceiving.

The confrontations between Rawal and Sinha reek of mediocrity, baffling an underrated Suhail Nayyar( he plays Jolly) who looks equally baffled about his positioning in the film - Nikita's Ex or BFFL or Beau or Social Media Influencer. Nayyar's part is starved for an emotional arc and his bits are more familiar with the frivolous.

 

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