Review of Manoj Bajpayee’s Murder Thriller “Silence…Can you hear it?”

July 30, 2021December 29, 2021 Aalokbarsha Bose manoj bajpayee, movie review, OTT, Reviews

The movie by Aban Bharucha Deohans on the popular OTT platform Zee5 was released earlier this year( March 2021) and has been receiving mixed reviews ever since. The film produced by Zee Studios has the talented Manoj Bajpayee as its protagonist, ACP Avinash Verma, who leads the special team of three more officers played by Prachi Desai, Sahil Vaid, and Vaquar Shaikh.

Silence Can You Hear It Movie Review

The murder case revolves around Pooja Choudhary, the daughter of Justice Choudhary, who was discovered by four college students on a tourist destination on a hilltop.

The forensic department found out that there was a big wound on her head which had some bits of copper on the wound- indicative of the fact that the equipment used to kill her was a copper one. There was more evidence stating that it wasn’t a rape case and that due to some personal reason the murderer had chosen to take away her life.

As the story unfolds before us, the audience, we observe a few more facts of the case- Pooja had last visited her closest friend Kavita’s place with the hopes of seeing her and showing her something. However, Kavita had gone to Pune for an exhibition, and Pooja had spent the night in Kavita’s house because it was extremely late.

However, the next day everyone, including Kavita’s MLA husband Ravi claims to not have seen her thereafter. However, Kavita’s early return to her house and the accident she faced later on in it, drew everyone’s attention away from Pooja’s absence.

Several questions are posed in the first half of the film- who was the murderer? Why did they choose to kill Pooja? Why was Pooja’s best friend Kavita in a coma? What had led to her unfortunate accident? Are these two incidents interlinked to each other?

While the film promises to be a murder mystery/thriller, it is, at its core, a chaotic love story. The spectator is traveling through a series of troughs and crests. While the intrigue of the film is heightened at various times, it feels like a never-ending wild goose chase.

The director has kept us engaged throughout the film, however, there isn’t much to be ‘in awe of’. The cinematography by Arvind Singh is soothing to the eye and quite enjoyable. The makeup and hair department helped bring the characters on paper to life through the actors’ appearance.

The movie could have been a little fast-paced in certain situations after the first half to make it more gripping though it would be wrong to claim that the 136 minutes spent on watching this movie was a drudge. It’s a great one-time watch that could have used some work on the editing of the film as some long scenes looked a little unnecessary and could’ve been cut short.

The transitory essence of existence is discussed throughout the film in thought-provoking sequences. Following the death of a person, a name plaque is simply broken to bits and placed in a hospital. Any individual’s death is viewed as a loss for all of humanity.

Another human emotion explored in this film was greed. The MLA’s greed to achieve more in life led him to make decisions that went completely against his morale. In our regular lives, this is incredibly relatable, we often forget our true selves in the process of trying to climb up the stairs of fame, success, affluence, and power and usually lose our way to vices such as greed and jealousy.

ACP Avinash Verma’s life is also shown in bits and pieces to give the audience a fairer idea of who he is and to connect more with him in a positive manner.

He is a middle-aged man who has an estranged daughter and a wife he separated from many years ago. His lack of regular traditional family life and bad eating habits are observed by the audience, also helping us flesh out a heart in the character and empathizing with his general work ethic and need to solve mysteries incessantly.

In conclusion, we can state that the movie is a good watch and Manoj Bajpayee has given us yet another stellar performance. Prachi Desai, on the other hand, made her OTT debut with ‘Silence…Can You Hear It?’ and has done a commendable job.

This movie is a must-watch for any of Arjun Mathur’s fans as well, as he plays a crucial role in the show and has given us yet another piece of work to admire him for. Stay tuned to BuzzArenas for more such Bollywood and Hollywood movie reviews.