Movie Name : The Stoneman Murders
Movie Cast : Kay Kay Menon, Arbaaz Khan, Vikram Gokhale, Rukhsar
Movie Director : Manish Gupta
Music Director : Siddharth-Suhas
Rating : 4 / 5
A taut thriller that revolves around the serial killer that terrorized the streets of Mumbai in 1983, THE STONEMAN MURDERS is a whodunit that delivers high on the suspense quotient, keeping you glued to your seats through its gripping narrative. Kay Kay Menon is terrific as suspended sub inspector Shelar, delivering an intense and credible performance, ably supported by Arbaaz Khan a rarity and Vikram Gokhale.
Manish Gupta who wrote Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar makes a brilliant feature film debut as director (he has also directed one of the short stories of the Darna Series of RGV) , directing his own written version of the real life incidents of the Stoneman killings in the early 80s and weaving a fictionalized story around it. The script keeps the viewer guessing the true identity of the killer right till the final reel of the film, and to the credit of the writing, the climax is not predictable. The street sequences as The Stoneman stalks the nights are extremely atmospheric with cinematographer Srikanth Naroj succeeding in brilliantly setting up the mood and the suspense visually. The sound design is also perfect, with the background score building up the necessary tension.
The film takes place in the city of Mumbai, where serial killings are taking place at a rapid pace. The serial killer, who has been named 'Stoneman' by the media due to the way he kills people, has already claimed his fifth victim. Still, the case seems to be of little interest to the Mumbai Police force. However, there is one person in, rather out of, the police who deems it to be of great importance suspended sub inspector Sanjay Shelar (Kay Kay Menon). To him, the killer presents an opportunity to come back into the police force. AIG Satam (Vikram Gokhale), who supports Sanjay, provides him secret aid as well, for tracking down the serial killer. However, posing as the biggest roadblock to Sanjay is Inspector Kedar Phadke (Arbaaz Khan), the officer who is in charge of the case. While both of them lead their respective investigations, delving deeper into the case, their paths clash, and the killer continues to haunt the streets of Mumbai, claiming victim after victim. Will the police discover who 'Stoneman' is? And will it be Sanjay or Kedar who will finally solve the case?
As you discover the identity of the killer, the writer also alleges that there was a great cover up with the police behind it, and the fact that the killer was never caught was not true. THE STONEMAN MURDERS reveals what was the real truth behind the serial killings and its investigation, and this hypothesis makes it all the more exciting, evoking greater curiosity as the film races to its final denouement. A not to be missed suspense thriller, the finest in recent years!