The Stoneman Murders

This movie is based on the real event which occurred in mumbai in 80s and later in kolkata and the makers of this movie has blended the facts of that event perfectly with fiction to come out with an entertaining story.

The story revolves around Mumbai where few police men are trying to solve the stoneman murders. Kay Kay Manon has played his role well as a policeman. Even Rest of the cast shares a small screen time but their work is good except Arbaz Khan who somehow fails whenever he appears on screen in this movie.

The Stoneman Murders is an engaging thriller based on the real-life incident of serial killings by a ruthless killer dubbed as the "Stoneman". It takes place in the city of Mumbai, where serial killings are taking place at a rapid pace. Taking its premise from those incidents and referring to media coverage of the case, writer-director Manish Gupta constructs a screenplay that is derived from hard facts where available, and imagination to fill in the gaps.

"The Stoneman Murders" reveals the horrifying secret, like a proper murder mystery should, right at the end. The narrative is linear and non-fussy, the story-telling direct, peppered with some truly chilling moments. The gathering of forensic evidence, the photographs of the corpses, and the sifting that follows is classic detective territory, and the director does a good job of keeping it simple, but keeping it going. Kay Kay Menon takes the film to the heights with his remarkable performance. Arbaaz Khan is good to watch. Vikram Gokhale and Rukhsar are okay. Rest of the cast is average.

On the whole, ʽThe Stoneman Murdersʼ is the finest thriller churned out on Bollywood scene ever. Itʼs an appealing film to watch.

For a long time I thought The Stoneman Murders was a investigative documentary of some sort by NDTV – because I always saw the ads only on the news channels. And the ads only showed some guy shrouded in a blanket, about to smash someone with a big stone. It was only later that I saw Kay Kay Menon and Arbaaz Khan in the promos and realized it was a proper movie.

But the big question about each movie - is it a proper/watchable movie ? Answer - Hell yeah !! It might be small budget and without any catchy item songs (there is one mandatory dance-bar song, but its eminently forgettable) – but it's a very involving and riveting thriller. Of course, it manages to trip itself up when it uncovers the mystery man – it's a time honored Hindi movie tradition (Raaz etc) after all !! But since it's the last 10 minutes of the movie, you can easily skip that part in your mind and remember its engrossing moments.

As the movie title and the trailers announce – its about the gruesome Stoneman (or 'Pattharmaar') serial killings in Bombay in 1983 – whose identity remains a mystery till date. According to google, this is the only serial-killer case in India that was never solved – not even a definitive arrest !! Director Manish Gupta claims that there was no way a crime like this was unsolved – there must have been a massive cover-up afterwards. Now I am not in a position to verify if this is just a publicity gimmick or he actually believes that – but it definitely adds to the enjoyment of the movie.

The Stoneman Murders has Kay Kay Menon playing inspector Sanjay - his now-regular characterization of a man with an inflated self-belief, aggression and a liking for violence (Sarkar, Mumbai Meri Jaan, Life in a Metro, Via Darjeeling and many more). I guess it goes without saying that he does that role pretty well. The movie begins with inspector Sanjay getting suspended from the police force for a accidental custodial death, right when the Stoneman kills his first victim. As the bodies pile up, he gets permission from a sympathetic senior Satam (Vikram Gokhale) to pursue a secret parallel investigation on his own. Sanjay latches on to the thin hope that cracking the case before the police department does, might be his only chance of getting back into the force ... and mobilizes his underground network of informers for clues. But the killer doesn't give himself up easily and that is what the story is all about.

With a perfect accompanying background score that heightens the terse moments and shot mostly at nighttime Mumbai streets, The Stoneman Murders is a very intelligent cat-and-mouse game between the renegade cop and the mystery killer. The director/script-writer have come up with a very realistic & engrossing story – and I cant tell you more about the narrative without giving away some of the mystery. There are scary moments throughout the movie, and there were times I forgot to chew the popcorn in my mouth as I cringed inwardly about the gory death awaiting the pavement-dweller.

However, the director cant match this suspense buildup with the final expose of the Stoneman – and the identity of the killer is rather underwhelming. That spoils what is otherwise a perfect suspense movie. But even with the stinky ending, The Stoneman Murders is entertaining as hell, especially at just 1 hour 40 min runtime and hence deserves a watch

I regularly review movies at http://bombaycinephile.blogspot.com

The goods- Story, cinematography, pace, length, Climax, ending scene, Key Key Menon's performance .

The bads- Songs, Background score, could have been made a bit darker, and Arbaz khan and Menon's wife's perfomance (unbearably bad) .

. I had read somewhere about the stoneman Killings, and came to know about this movie today in 2021. I loved the way the writers created a fiction from a real story. They could have removed the songs, chose some better actors and made the movie a bit more dark.. Then I would have gave it 9 star...

One of the best crime thriller to come outta bollywood. Very atmospheric creepy thriller. Without the star power n without the big budget the movie succeeded in captivating the audiences. Terrific direction by Manish Gupta. Terrific acting by KK Menon n the rest of the cast. Editing by Sanjib Datta is top notch. Srikanth Naroj director of photography did an awesome job with the cinematography. The movie perfectly absorbed the feel of the 80's era, area and the eerie late- night ambiance. The movie succeeded in making the pavements look like black tar unlike the multi- colored jigsaw shaped tiles of today. Details were paid attention to as no modern vehicles were seen on the roads. Despite being a murder mystery, Gupta avoids gore and bloodshed, and makes it visually appealing. There is one amazing erotic scene for front benchers. Awesome ending. Very rare to see this kinda ending in a Bollywood flick. The night scenes were shot very well. It had the atmosphere of chilling dread. Before this flick, ittefaq was my fav Bollywood thriller. Inspite having seen Signpost to murder.

Stoneman is  at its best when it  showcases Gupta's Directorial Skills. He utilizes the night scenes and narrow bylanes wonderfully, crafting shots that are disarmingly beautiful but also serve to establish the chilling emptiness of the area, where screams can travel for miles without being heard.

I saw this movie in theater with my dad when it released. Felt the need to write the review, as just saw a lil bit today on some channel.

Fans of zodiac, memories of murder, bereavement n malevolent shud definitely check this out. Also check The abandoned (2006) directed by Nacho Cerdà. Awesome atmospheric horror film with beautiful n creepy cinematography.