''Murder 3'' is a 2013 Indian
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
-language
psychological thriller
Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.
In terms of context and co ...
film. It is the third instalment in the ''
Murder film series
''Murder'' is a series of Indian thriller films produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt under the banner of Vishesh Films. The first film directed by Anurag Basu was released in 2004, second film by Mohit Suri was released in 2011, and thi ...
'' and sequel to the 2011 film, ''
Murder 2''. Directed by
Vishesh Bhatt
Vishesh Bhatt is an Indian filmmaker who works in Hindi cinema.
Career
He studied filmmaking at the Tisch School of Arts, NYU & USC. Currently at age 32, he heads strategy, content development, creatives, marketing, and is responsible for all di ...
and produced by
Mukesh Bhatt
Mukesh Bhatt (born 5 June 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film producer and actor who has produced several Bollywood films. He is the younger brother of Mahesh Bhatt, and also the co-owner of the production company Vishesh Films, set up in 19 ...
from Vishesh Films. This is the third installment in the series and unlike its predecessors, is an official remake of the Colombian thriller ''
The Hidden Face''. ''Murder 3'' was released on 15 February 2013 to mixed reviews and was a flop.
Plot
The film opens with Vikram (
Randeep Hooda
Randeep Hooda (; born 20 August 1976) is an Indian actor and Equestrianism, equestrian known for his work predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hooda made his Hindi film debut with ''Monsoon Wedding''. He had a turning point in his career with the ga ...
), a hot-shot fashion and wildlife photographer, viewing a video of his girlfriend, Roshni (
Aditi Rao Hydari
Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi and Tamil film industry. She made her film debut with the Malayalam film '' Prajapathi'' in 2006. She went on to have major to minor supporting roles in several Hindi films, includ ...
) telling him she is leaving him. Vikram becomes distraught. While drinking away his sorrows at a bar, he meets Nisha Sengupta (
Sara Loren
Sara Hussain ( ur, ), better known as Sara Loren, is a Pakistani actress and model mostly known for working in Bollywood, Hindi as well as Lollywood, Urdu movies and television. She is best known for played role as Barkhaa in 2015.
Early lif ...
) and they have a relationship where Nisha moves into the house that Vikram was sharing with Roshni. Vikram becomes a suspect in the disappearance of Roshni, however, the investigators can find no evidence of Vikram's involvement in Roshni's disappearance.
It is revealed that the house is owned by a British lady who shows Roshni a secret room built to hide her husband just in case someone came to look for him because he was in British Army at the time of 1947. The room is self-contained
In a flashback, it is also shown that Roshni, jealous of Vikram's relationship with one of his colleague, decided to pretend she is leaving him. She creates the video saying she is leaving as she hides in the secret room. The room has some one way mirrors where she can observe Vikram's reaction. When she decides he has had enough she looks for the key and realises she lost the key and is now trapped in the room with no way to contact him.
Nisha finds the key to the secret room, but she doesn't know what it is used for. Nisha eventually figures out that Roshni is trapped in the house because Roshni is able to communicate through tapping on the pipes in the secret room. As Nisha is ready to open the door, she pauses and decides not to rescue Roshni because she might lose Vikram after that. Nisha struggles with her decision, but decides to open the door and check on Roshni when the investigators give Nisha a package containing some images. As Nisha is checking on Roshni laying in a bed in the secret room, Roshni surprises Nisha and knocks her out with a glass bottle and leaves Nisha locked in the room. After Roshni comes out of the secret room, she sees the images and the package, which are pictures of Vikram and his colleague in compromising situations, shattering her. She decides to leave the house. She leaves that picture of Vikram with his colleague on mirror and also sticks her necklace to show Vikram that she is out and then she sends the keys of the room to the investigator who actually loves Nisha. The investigator comes and arrests Vikram while Nisha is stranded in the room as both Vikram and the investigator have no knowledge about the room and the key. The final scene shows Roshni tearing her and Vikram's photograph and is going on a highway road in a car alone, happy on leaving the devastated and arrested Vikram.
Cast
*
Randeep Hooda
Randeep Hooda (; born 20 August 1976) is an Indian actor and Equestrianism, equestrian known for his work predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hooda made his Hindi film debut with ''Monsoon Wedding''. He had a turning point in his career with the ga ...
as Vikram
*
Aditi Rao Hydari
Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi and Tamil film industry. She made her film debut with the Malayalam film '' Prajapathi'' in 2006. She went on to have major to minor supporting roles in several Hindi films, includ ...
as Roshni
*
Sara Loren
Sara Hussain ( ur, ), better known as Sara Loren, is a Pakistani actress and model mostly known for working in Bollywood, Hindi as well as Lollywood, Urdu movies and television. She is best known for played role as Barkhaa in 2015.
Early lif ...
as Nisha Sengupta
*
Rajesh Shringarpure
Rajesh Shringarpure (born 29 October 1977) is an Indian film and television actor who appears in Hindi cinema and Marathi cinema.He is currently playing the role of Malhar Rao Holkar in television serial '' Punyashlok Ahilyabai'' on which is ...
as Kabir (Police Officer).
* Karla Singh as Mrs. Fields
* Bugs Bhargava as DK Bose, Vikram's boss
Casting
The makers of the films, who also worked on ''
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
'' and ''
Murder 2'' decided that
Emraan Hashmi would not be returning for the third movie and that
Randeep Hooda
Randeep Hooda (; born 20 August 1976) is an Indian actor and Equestrianism, equestrian known for his work predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hooda made his Hindi film debut with ''Monsoon Wedding''. He had a turning point in his career with the ga ...
would play the leading role
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She be ...
was originally considered for the lead female role, however, she was not happy with the script and the role went to
Esha Gupta
Esha Gupta (; born 28 November 1985) is an Indian actress, model and the winner of the Miss India International title of 2007. She has established a career in Bollywood films.
Gupta entered the Femina Miss India contest in 2007, where she plac ...
. Yet, talks with Gupta fell through and
Aditi Rao Hydari
Aditi Rao Hydari is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi and Tamil film industry. She made her film debut with the Malayalam film '' Prajapathi'' in 2006. She went on to have major to minor supporting roles in several Hindi films, includ ...
was finally cast as the female lead.
Pakistani actress
Sara Loren
Sara Hussain ( ur, ), better known as Sara Loren, is a Pakistani actress and model mostly known for working in Bollywood, Hindi as well as Lollywood, Urdu movies and television. She is best known for played role as Barkhaa in 2015.
Early lif ...
was then chosen as the second female lead.
Production and development
The film was shot in
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, South Africa and Goa, India.
Mahesh Bhatt said "''Murder 3'' is the 2013 equivalent of his 1983 controversial film,
Arth
Arth is a village, a List of towns in Switzerland, town, and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Schwyz District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The municipality consists of the villages Arth, Oberarth, and Goldau. The four ...
. Then it was the institution of marriage that was deconstructed and 30 years later Murder 3 deconstructs love and questions its very existence in today's world of relationship crimes. Now that we have the official rights of the film (''The Hidden Face''), we look to doing it justice and taking the Murder franchise forward."
Critical reception
''Murder 3'' received mixed reviews from critics.
Taran Adarsh
Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media.
Career
Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
of
Bollywood Hungama
Bollywood Hungama (lit. "Bollywood Madness" in Hindi), previously known as IndiaFM (or IndiaFM.com), is a Bollywood entertainment website, owned by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, which acquired the website in 2000.
The website provides ...
gave it 4 out of 5 and stated that Murder 3 "is one of the finest thrillers to come out of Vishesh Films. An outstanding story narrated with ferocious enthusiasm. Vishesh Bhatt hits a boundary in his very first attempt!"
Madhureeta Mukherjee of
The Times Of India
''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
gave it 3 out of 5, while commenting 'This one's no bloody Valentine, but watch it if you like it twisted.'
Komal Nahta
Komal Nahta (born 30 April 1964) is an Indian film trade analyst. Nahta is the publisher of "Film Information" and also a television show host. He is an anchor of the trade show ETC Bollywood Business on the Bollywood TV channels ETC and Zee Cinem ...
wrote, 'On the whole, Murder 3 is a fair entertainer'.Nabanita of OneIndia also gave it 3 out of 5 while commenting that it has thrills but it fails to captivate. Roshni Devi of
Koimoi
Koimoi is a Bollywood entertainment website providing Bollywood news, box-office reports and film reviews. In January 2021, its Alexa ranking in India was 2530.
Origin
On 23 November 2009, Contest2win.com and Komal Nahta's Faith Entertainment j ...
gave it 2.5 out of 5, saying that it is worth a watch. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave it 2.5/5 stars and stated 'Murder 3, a thriller that vacillates between the taut to the toxic, packs enough punch and panache to keep the audience glued, if not sweep them off their feet. It tweaks the formula just a tad – it goes somewhat easy on the erotic component of the Murder franchise, opts for a markedly stronger emotional spine, and gives the female characters more than usual space.'
Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
gave it 2/5 while writing that 'With a little more imagination, Murder 3 could have been deliciously dark'. Sukanya Verma for
Rediff.com
Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City.
, it had more than 300 e ...
has given 2/5 stars and says ''Murder 3'' has some badly-acted thrills.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of the film is composed by
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also known mononymously as Pritam, is an Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, and singer. After working as an ad jingles composer, he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye. A ...
,
Anupam Amod
Anupam Amod ( hi, अनुपम अमोद) is an Indian playback singer. He was born in Jaipur and graduated from SPA Delhi.
Playback singing
Anupam Amod released an album with Times Music titled ''Chandan Sa Badan'' which contained his s ...
&
Roxen (band)
Roxen ( ) is a Pakistani rock band from Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The band had a debut studio album '' Rozen-e-Deewar'', released in 2006. Following this, the band had singles "Toh Phir Aao" and "Tera Mera Rishta" which featured as soundtracks ...
. The lyrics are penned by
Sayeed Quadri
Sayeed Quadri is an Indian lyricist and poet who works in Bollywood. He was born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He won the Best Lyricist award at the 6th IIFA Awards for ''Murder'', and Standout Performance by Lyricist at the Stardust Awards 2005 for ...
. The soundtrack was released on 2 February 2013. The songs were immensely popular specially the songs "Teri Jhuki Nazar" and "Hum Jee Lenge" was immensely popular among the masses while the other tracks like "Mat Azma Re" and "Jaata Hai Tujh Tak" were also very popular gaining good critical review and mass appeal. The music focused on the Rock Genre and was unique in the Murder brand.
Track list
The soundtrack consists of 8 tracks which are composed by
Pritam
Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also known mononymously as Pritam, is an Indian composer, instrumentalist, guitarist, and singer. After working as an ad jingles composer, he debuted as a co-composer in the 2001 Hindi film Tere Liye. A ...
,
Anupam Amod
Anupam Amod ( hi, अनुपम अमोद) is an Indian playback singer. He was born in Jaipur and graduated from SPA Delhi.
Playback singing
Anupam Amod released an album with Times Music titled ''Chandan Sa Badan'' which contained his s ...
& Roxen Band.
The soundtrack received positive critical response. Planet Bollywood gave it 7.5/10 calling it a great album. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3.5/5 while Koimoi gave it 3/5.
References
External links
*
*
{{Murder series
2013 films
2010s erotic thriller films
Indian psychological thriller films
2013 psychological thriller films
Films shot in South Africa
Indian sequel films
Films featuring songs by Pritam
2010s Hindi-language films
Fox Star Studios films
Indian erotic thriller films
Indian remakes of Spanish films