As courtroom drama, "Nail Polish" evidently works well to an extent. With gratifying performances & plenty of suspense; it undoubtedly keeps you engaged for the totality of its runtime. That being said, to call it one of the 'Greatest' thrillers ever made; would be outrageously far-fetched.
An acknowledged thriller demands a handful of fundamental constituents. Great piece of writing, fluently crafted screenplay, quite a bit of eventful acts from the ensemble cast, and more importantly a much-needed technical dexterity.
Now if you take anything out of this pristine equation, the conclusion will indeed be affected. And that's exactly what just happened here!
Despite having a reasonably well-drafted script in hand, the writers pointlessly added several redundant subplots which thereafter failed to come to a resolution. It not only made the screenplay outstretched, but it also became less comprehensive in regards to separate character build-ups.
Albeit somewhat foreseeable; the storyline is fascinating enough to keep me on the edge. Primarily a courtroom drama, this narrative takes a turn for worse when it momentarily comes out of its comfort zone!
Amongst all the seasoned performers like Arjun Rampal, Manav Kaul; who undoubtedly played their respective roles with thorough commitment and perseverance. Regardless, my biggest complaint is about the individual character arcs in here. It's as if the makers didn't pay any sort of attention!
For instance, the prosecution lawyer; Amit Kumar played by Anand Tiwari. Why is he being used as comic relief in certain places? We all know about his capacity as a deft performer, then was it really necessary to make his mannerisms akin to a moronic personage? Especially considering the fact that the film itself deals with more dark and delicate subjects!
In all honesty, such offbeat treatment; it went over my head!
In India, Authentic Thrillers; let alone Psychological ones are barely in their infancy. And there's much room for further improvisation. However, I do admire the sincere efforts coming from aspiring creators nowadays.
A pivotal step in the right direction.
