Movie Review - Vodka Diaries - by Suhel Johar

Vodka Diaries Is An Insipid Psychological Thriller

Vodka Diaries, directed by debutant Kushal Srivastava is a suspense thriller. It’s said that first impression is the last impression and in that sense the title Vodka Diaries does evoke a sense of mystery and intrigue among the audience. However, the film itself is just about average and it lacks the brilliance of popular thriller films that we have seen in the past. Nonetheless, Vodka Diaries like most thriller films does tease your mind a little to solve the mystery and identify the real killer but in the end proves to be a sheer waste of time.

The story of Vodka Diaries is based amidst the frozen, deserted and foggy landscape of Manali, which creates the perfect conditions for a whodunit thriller to take shape. The story revolves around a cop ACP Ashwini Dixit (Kay Kay Menon) and his life. His family is his pretty wife Shikha (Mandira Bedi) with whom he lives a normal life, shares drinks and discusses literature. Another companion in his life is his assistant (Sharib Hashmi) with whom he discusses the cases. He is given a case to solve in which a girl is murdered. Later he discovers four more dead bodies and comes to know that all people who have been murdered share one thing in common that is they have been in the night club Vodka Diaries for an anniversary party. The twist in the tale arises when the case becomes personal and his wife also goes missing while solving the case. The plot thickens further when Ashwini starts getting calls from an unknown mysterious woman who claims to have information about the killer.

For a good thriller the most essential ingredient is a strong and gripping storyline but instead what we have in Vodka Diaries can only be described as mediocre. To make it worse is the convoluted script of the film which fails to hit the right notes. The film does start on a promising note but as it progresses it starts sinking and by the end of it completely disappoints you with its mediocrity. The film is more inclined towards being a psychological thriller instead of a whodunit thriller.

Raima Sen plays the mystery woman who comes now and then and basically is helping Ashwini to form a picture of the puzzle pieces, which Ashwini is receiving in the form of clues. Even this tactic does not help the film’s complex and implausible script. The film is designed to be a fast-paced thriller, but it often loses steam from time to time. Most of the film is totally random and we are as clueless as Ashwini Dixit. You know that it’s heading somewhere but lose interest because anything goes. And even when everything’s clear, it hardly makes any impact. Unnecessary songs worsen the already discombobulated narrative. The revelation, in the end, will definitely make you cringe because the film shows something totally against to its own logic which it adopted in the beginning.

Director Kushal Srivastava has failed to put the speed and tonality of the film in the right order. His skills and craftsmanship is evident but he needs to channelize his talent properly by choosing a strong subject. Writer Vaibhav Bajpai is unable to give shape to his thoughts on the paper. His efforts to secure stability by balancing the out of control plot are mediocre at best. Cinematography by Maneesh Chandra Bhatt is brilliant while the editing by Aalaap Majgavkar is below average. Music by Sandesh Shandilya, Harry Anand and Parvaaz is okay. Sanjoy Chowdhury’s background score is effective.

Performanceswise, Kay Kay Menon, tries his best to salvage the show but is unable to do thanks to some very poor writing.  In fact this is his most average performance till date. The talented Sharib Hashmi is the only one who manages to shine a bit. In fact, his confrontation scene with Menon is the best-enacted scene in the film. Mandira Bedi has very limited screen time but she makes the most of it to prove how underutilised is she as an actor. Raima Sen, delivers despite the limited scope of her character.

On the whole, Vodka Diaries is a disappointing fare.