Hungarian Adventure:
The introduction given to the titular character is cute, Detective Sherdil, not so much. Because he is played by Diljit Dosanjh, whose stardom is at an ascendant, and he can do no wrong, the irritants can be overlooked. The guy, who claims he has a problem to every solution, and is afflicted by the “curse of genius,” places himself in the league of legendary fictional detectives like Sherlock Holmes. Byomkesh Bakshi and Karamchand, which does him more harm than good, because who could live up to those masters!
The film (on ZEE5), directed by Ravi Chhabriya (who has also co-written the story with Ali Abbas Zafar), is set in Budapest, for no discernible reason but that the production may have got some subsidies. Nobody speaks Hungarian in any case, the three cops who work on the murder of an Indian billionaire, are conveniently Indian. (Just by the way, an internet search reveals that there are no Indian-origin cops in Hungary!)
Pankaj Bhatti (Boman Irani) is shot dead and his car blown up on a deserted street in Budapest. Natasha (Diana Penty), who lands the case, asks for Sherdil to be assigned to her team – though she keeps giving him the stink eye. If they have a history, there is no mention of it. For reasons of symmetry if nothing else—when Sherdil strides into a room, there must be a cop on each side—there is a third cop, Danny (Mikhail), who doesn’t actually serve any purpose.
Bhatti’s snooty wife, Rajeshwari (Ratna Pathak Shah), their son Angad (Sumeet Vyas), daughter-in-law (Sarah Barlondo), and deaf-mute daughter Shanti (Banita Sandhu) are possible suspects and none show any signs of grief. There is also an inquisitive househelp (Kashmira Irani Saxena) and eccentric, tree-hugging uncle Bodhi (Chunky Panday) to complete the menagerie. The shooter is arrested, but who was the finger behind that trigger is the question. The Bhattis all accuse Shanti’s missing boyfriend, Purvak (Arjun Tanwar), who was also Bhatti’s accountant. When the will is read, there is major consternation.
Sherdil places all the members of the family under house arrest, ostensibly for their protection, and goes about the task of tracing the missing driver, and the absconding Purvak. While he does his work, he has the annoying habit of playing the harmonica, which he also uses as a weapon when the need arises. His manner that falls between smug and cheeky, irritates the Bhattis, who think he is not doing enough to catch the real killer—and nobody raises an eyebrow, when he runs around in a bathrobe in a scene.
Still, as detective films go, this one’s mildly amusing. If, by the rules of murder mysteries, the person who is least likely to have done it turns out to be the killer, then it is not tough to guess who it might turn out to be. The acting ensemble wrapping themselves around the furniture in an ornate European mansion, at least got a holiday out of the film, for doing very little. Sherdil is not done yet, however, and promises to solve a case in Kenya next. Good for armchair travellers!
(This piece first appeared in seniorstoday.in)
