My Wife's Murder is an extremely well made film. Directed by newcomer Jijy Philip (one of RGV's assistant), the film delves into the psyche of a murderer who kills his wife accidentally.
The story revolves around Ravi Patwardhan (Anil Kapoor) who is a middle class film editor. He has a wife Sheela (Suchitra Krishnamurthy) and two kids. He spends most of his time working away in his studio with his assistant, Reena (Nandana Sen). However, the reality of his home is way different than it seems. His wife is a nag who is constantly bickering and suspecting her husband of having an affair with his assistant. One day, the spat turns ugly and Ravi loses his cool, pushing Sheela which results in her hitting her head on a wooden carving of the bed and dying instantly. Faced with an unapologetic situation, Ravi is hesitant about calling the cops as he fears he might get arrested. And this will ruin his children's lives. Eventually, he decides to play hide-and-seek with the law until the inevitable occurs.
MWM is not a thrill-frill murder mystery. It' s a simply plain psychological film about a man who is unlucky on all fronts: be it personal or professional. The success of Philip as a director lies in the fact that how he managed to keep us glued to our seats despite a simple storytelling. He takes us into the mind of the troubled man and makes us feel his tensions, anxiety, excitement and helplessness. Under RGV'S tutelage, Philip has learned the ropes of direction pretty quickly and in most of the sequences you can catch glimpses of his mentor.
The film has a dark look and it really helps build the tension and suspense. The background score is also apt for the setting. Cinematography by P.S. Vinod is first-rate.
MWM totally belongs to Anil Kapoor. He sinks his teeth into the role of Ravi Patwardhan really well and delivers a fine performance. He is one of the underrated actors in Bollywood. MWM really helped him tap his potential as an actor to the fullest.
Boman Irani is another actor who deserves an equal amount of applause. He is likable as the cop hot on trail of Anil's character in the film. He is made to act more with his facial expression than mouthing dialogues and he does it pretty well.
Nandana Sen is passable as Reena. She gets more scope towards the second half though and she does it well.
Suchitra Krishnamurthy, despite a 15 minute role, ends up giving an award worthy performance. Her role as the nagging wife stays with you even after you walked out of the theater.
On the whole, MWM makes for an interesting watch. Go for it!
