“Facebook and ex-wives don’t make good friends“
Name- The Girl on the Train
Cast- Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari, Avinash Tiwari, Jacqueline Fernandez
Release- February 2021
Streaming on Netflix
If you have watched Emily Blunt starrer The Girl on the Train and are wondering if Bollywood’s version of the film is the same, then I suggest you definitely watch this movie. The movie is an entirely different package and brings more surprises than expected.
ABOUT THE MOVIE
Bollywood’s The Girl on the Train starring Parineeti Chopra is a remake of the 2016 Hollywood film with the same name starring Emily Blunt, which is based on the novel by British author Paula Hawkins. I am not really a fan of the Hollywood version of this story because, in my opinion, it was mediocre, where the story only revolved around Emily Blunt. Now, if we talk about Bollywood’s adaptation, you’ll find the story to be the same. In this movie, Parineeti is playing the role of Mira Dev who is a drunkard and recently divorced (the role was played by Emily Blunt in the Hollywood adaptation).
She spends her time fantasizing about the life of a seemingly perfect couple she used to stalk while travelling on the train and wishes to have a perfect life just like them. This interest in their lives makes Mira want to know more about them. As she continues to stalk the couple, learning more about them and making notes- she realizes that everything visible to the eyes is not really true. Not soon, you’ll see a slow-moving and intriguing tale turn into a murder mystery, where Mira is being accused of killing Nusrat John played by Aditi Rao Hydari (the girl Mira used to stalk). When the story starts revolving around this murder mystery is when the actual movie begins.
REVIEW
The first thing that I liked the most about this movie is the screenplay, which will keep you engaged throughout. If I compare both the movie versions, I find the Hollywood version a little slow, especially the first half. But the screenplay is better and intriguing in Bollywood’s adaptation. The plot of the story is the same albeit some minor changes. Although I was aware of what’s going to happen in the next scene, still the movie didn’t bore me. Another aspect that worked out well was the suspense; the execution of the suspense in the story was highly impressive.
Parineeti’s performance was on-point and commendable. I am not saying that she did an outstanding job, but she did great work with her expressions and acting. One can easily spot a little bit of overacting in some scenes like- the washroom scene, which is quite an important scene in the movie. Nevertheless, her portrayal of Mira Dev can be considered one of her best performances so far. On the other hand, the supporting cast, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari, Avinash Tiwari, Jacqueline Fernandez and so on, were decent.
There were some specific moments that irritated me- especially the unnecessary addition of songs. It is funny that Bollywood hasn’t yet grasped that the audience has become smart, and they can realize it immediately if a song or scene is being forced into the story. The story is a murder mystery, where the entire focus is and should be on it: forcibly incorporating a song here only acts as a distraction and spoils the fun.
In the end, I would like to say, The Girl on the Train, directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, is a well-made film with decent performances and good suspense, which is one of the key things for a murder mystery.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5
LitGleam Rating
