Netflix’s latest crime mystery thriller directed by Ribhu Dasgupta is based on Paula Hawkin’s English novel of 2015 that also became the source material for an American film directed by Tate Taylor released in 2016. However, the title of the original novel and both the adaptations for the screen remained the same as The Girl on The Train.
A psychological thriller revolving around three women characters and their fractured relationships with men interlinked with each other, the film has an interesting premise and culmination too. But that all sadly manages to engage the viewers only towards the end as the secrets are being revealed, but not any time before in its entire two hours of duration.
To be honest, neither the English adaptation (also available at Netflix) is engrossing enough as a crime thriller nor the Hindi remake keeps you glued to the seats, despite all the efforts of adding many commercial elements including the songs and a new twist. The writing fails to impress and the performers keep on going as per their given roles without establishing any kind of emotional connect with the viewers.
Leading from the front, Parineeti Chopra tries hard and so does Kirti Kulhari but the script never lets them leave any kind of mark even in the crucial sequences with all the twist and turns. Particularly the director seems to be pretty confused giving Kirti a specific religious get-up that doesn’t matches with her persona and family too due to various reasons. In fact she also keeps doing it in an overcharged way right from her first scene that should have been caught and rectified. On the other hand, Aditi Rao Hydari once again delivers a soft and likable act in her limited appearance, but Avinash Tiwary keeps struggling in the presence of both Aditi and Parineeti grabbing all the attention.
In straight words, even if a crime thriller has an interesting climax, it can only succeed or charm, if it provides the expected excitement and entertainment in its first and second act leading to the shocking culmination. However here that isn’t the case in both the English and Hindi adaptations of the successful novel that surely has to be far better and thrilling than the two films. Commenting over the Hindi remake, it certainly is a project falling way short of director’s earlier works too and hence can easily be rated as another opportunity missed.
Overall, as the end credits begin, one gets forced to think that when the English version was also just an average film then why did they even consider the project for a Hindi remake?
Rating : 2 / 5
Tags :
THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (Netflix) Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, New Hindi Films Reviews by Bobby Sing, Official Remakes of English Films, Hindi Films based on foreign novels.
