Aliya Basu Gayab Hai Review: Raima Sen, Vinay Pathak starrer film is an edgy thriller

ALIYA BASU GAYAB HAI

Producer: Dr Sattar Diwan, Jonu Rana and Dr D.J. Zanwar

Director: Preeti Singh

Cast: Raima Sen, Vinay Pathak and Salim Diwan

Released at theatres

Rating:

By Jyothi Venkatesh

The edge of the seat thriller revolves around a young woman Aliya Basu (Raima Sen), a daughter of a wealthy businessman, who is kidnapped by two goons Vikram Singh (Vinay Pathak) and Deepak Kumar (Salim Diwan) and ferret her to an undisclosed location, hoping to get a hefty ransom for her release. However, what starts as a simple case of kidnapping for ransom, soon turns into a very diabolical game of greed, deceit and betrayal.

By the way, for the uninitiated, let me clarify that Aliya Basu Gayab Hai is a remake of J Blakeson’s 2009 British film The Disappearance Of Alison Creed in which Gemma Arterton played the kidnapped woman while Martin Compston and Eddie Marsan played the kidnappers.

The highlight of the film is that while the story is restricted between just the three central characters, the film ends up exploring a range of possibilities between them. The director aces by keeping her cards close to her chest till the very end unraveling the layers, with one twist at a time.

Also read: Gyaarah Gyaarah Review: Kritika Kamra, Raghav Juyal, Dhairya Karwa starrer is a gripping, intriguing crime series

The biggest plus point of the film is that Aliya Basu Gayab Hai may not revolutionize the thriller genre, but it certainly knows how to keep the audiences engaged with a tight plot, unexpected twists, and strong performances and succeeds in keeping you on the edge of your seat minus the unnecessary theatrics or bloodshed. It’s a smart, suspenseful ride that proves even a modestly scaled thriller can pack a punch.

As far as the performances are concerned, Vinay Pathak as the mastermind of the crime does most of the heavy lifting. The actor, who is known for his comic timing, is equally good here as a dangerous kidnapper, who isn’t sure of what he is capable of.

Raima Sen is convincing and effective in her role of a beleaguered woman trapped in a very uncomfortable situation and rises to the occasion when it comes to showing the inner strength of her character. It is a pity that this fine actress is seen mostly in Bengali films and not many films in Hindi showcase her talent.

Though Salim Diwan, with all the brilliant shades of his character had a huge scope to perform, unfortunately the actor leaves a lot to be impressed especially since he doesn’t go beyond a few monotonous expressions to convey the wide range of his character.