Mystery Of The Tattoo Review: Jaded and predictable

MYSTERY OF THE TATTOO

Directors- Kalaiarasi Sathappan and Ganesh Mahadevan

Cast- Rohit Raaj, Arjun Rampal, Daisy Shah, Ameesha Patel and Manoj Joshi

Platform of Release- Theatres

Rating-

By Jyothi Venkatesh

Chitradevi (Ameesha Patel), a renowned painter, is tragically killed in an unexpected freak accident, leaving behind an incomplete painting of hers. Aathmika (Daisy Shah), an art therapist, is drawn to complete her unfinished artwork and dedicate it to her memory. Meanwhile, a series of murders occur in the city, and an unfinished tattoo is a common indication of these crimes. The cops, despite their best efforts, are unable to solve the mysterious murders, when hey presto, Aathmika’s unusual yen for deciphering hidden meanings in art and symbols comes into play.

When a string of killings in London leaves unfinished tattoos as evidence, the British cops, who seem to be too good when it comes to conversing in chaste Hindi, are stumped and promptly seek her assistance. The crux of the film is about whether they are able to catch the killer and put an end to the killings. Though Aathmika’s ability to decode hidden meanings in art and symbols definitely adds an interesting quotient to the dimension of the story, as the plot unfolds, the narrative sadly loses steam intermittently and also becomes a tad too predictable, thus failing to maintain the suspense and intrigue it sets out to promise at the outset and one is upset with the climax.

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As far as the performances go, all I can say is that while Daisy Shah plays an artist convincingly, it is sad that her character Aathmika appears to be written half-bakedly. Rohit Raaj’s debut performance as Vikarn is just about mediocre, especially since the actor lacks finesse and is too self-conscious in front of the camera. Though Manoj Joshi is good as usual in a relatively small part, both Arjun Rampal and Ameesha Patel have very limited opportunities to shine as special guests.

All said and done, I should say that the film ‘Mystery of the Tattoo’ sets out to unravel at the outset an intriguing premise but as it progresses, it is unable to deliver an engaging and potent thriller. Though it has some redeeming mysterious elements, the film ultimately falls quite short of its latent potential due to an extremely predictable and jaded narrative and what’s more, half-baked and underdeveloped characters, as a result of which your interest in the film starts waning by the time the end credit titles start appearing on the screen.