Twenty one Hours Movie Review: Dhananjay reflects wonder, mystery, and insight in this thriller
Moving away from all proven commercial elements, the film focuses intensely on the core subject with abundant scope available for suspense and curiosity
Ad filmmaker Jaishankar Pandit’s Twenty One Hours is an experimental thriller that aims to seek a niche of its own, and in a way, it does not disappoint. Moving away from all proven commercial elements, the film focuses intensely on the core subject with abundant scope available for suspense and curiosity.
The story, based on a real-life incident, begins with Girish (Dinesh Baboo) who comes to Bengaluru from Coimbatore with his wife, in search of their missing daughter, Madhuri Menon (Durga Krishna). The case is taken over by investigative officer Srikanth (Dhananjay). With many suspects, the narration is pretty comprehensive in exploring the personal side of Madhuri Menon. Despite many clues, Srikanth finds it tough to crack the case, and it gets even more complicated with Madhuri’s death. As the investigation proceeds, darker truths emerge. The hint of a sequel as the film ends is interesting.
Cast: Dhananjay, Durga Krishna, Sudev Nair, Rahul Madhav
Director: Jaishankar Pandit
Individually, Twenty One Hours makes for a good thriller and is a fascinating watch. Casting Dhananjay is the biggest strength for the debutant filmmaker Jaishankar. Leaving aside his popularity as a commercial hero, Dhananjay reflects wonder, mystery, and insight through his grey shade character. Adding his own inventive touch, Dhananjay’s expressions add to the personality of the complex role. Despite various actors coming in and out, the entire narrative heavily depends on Dhananjay’s character.
The director seems to be in total control of putting together a small world of mystery, which is supported with technical brilliance. However, the dubbing desk plays spoilsport to a classy initiative. The rest of the cast including Durga Krishna, Dinesh Baboo, Sudev Nair, Rahul Madhav, Apoorva Bharadwaj, and Poornachandra Mysuru make their presence felt and play their part well.
While Dhananjay proves his acting calibre and Jaishankar succeeds in pulling off an almost impeccable thriller, the big question is whether the hardcore fans of Dhananjay will accept him in this new avatar.