Story
Haseen
Dillruba
begins
with
a
bang
(like
literally!)
Set
in
the
quaint
town
of
Jwalapur,
Rani
(Taapsee
Pannu)
is
feeding
raw
mutton
to
stray
dogs
when
a
huge
explosion
rips
her
house.
The
victim's
body
is
charred
beyond
recognition
barring
a
severed
hand
with
Rani's
name
tattooed
on
it.
It
is
assumed
that
the
dead
person
is
Rani's
husband
Rishu
(Vikrant
Massey)
and
the
cops
suspect
her
as
the
main
culprit.
As
Rani
tells
her
story
to
the
cops,
the
timeline
jumps
back
six
months.
An
arranged
marriage
alliance
brings
Rani,
a
beautician
and
Rishu,
an
engineer
into
the
same
room,
but
the
duo
is
different
as
chalk
and
cheese.
She
is
confident
and
sassy
while
he
is
a
timid
and
'seedha-saadha'.
At
one
point,
Rani
quips
to
herself
while
gazing
at
the
mirror,
"Tota
mila
gaya
us
average
insaan
ko." Nevertheless,
they
get
hitched.
However,
Rishi
soon
realizes
that
he
can
fix
anything
except
his
marriage.
While
Rishu
is
still
struggling
with
his
awkward
attempts
to
win
over
his
wife,
enters
his
muscle
flexing
cousin
Neel
(Harshvardhan
Rane).
He
is
everything
what
Rishu
isn't.
Rani,
a
Hindi
pulp
fiction
aficionado
soon
finds
the
line
between
fantasy
and
reality
blurred,
as
she
gives
in
to
a
passing
temptation.
What
follows
next
is
a
volatile
mix
of
love,
madness
and
death.
Direction
To
be
honest,
Taapsee
Pannu's
Haseen
Dillruba
starts
on
a
promising
note.
There's
a
dead
body,
a
prime
suspect
and
a
missing
murder
weapon.
Just
as
you
are
about
to
chew
off
your
nails
thinking
who's
the
murderer,
writer
Kanika
Dhillon
and
the
team
change
the
tonality
of
the
film
and
introduce
you
to
Rani-Rishu's
first
encounter,
their
struggle
to
get
intimate
post
marriage
and
other
sub-plots.
Barring
a
few
troupes
and
cliched
'saas-bahu' exchanges,
things
are
fun.
It's
only
when
the
plot
tiptoes
towards
its
toxic
idea
of
love
that
you
start
questioning
your
sanity
and
asking
if
this
is
what
you
had
signed
up
for!
The
meat
gets
even
more
harder
to
chew
when
you
watch
Taapsee
Pannu
fresh
out
of
Thappad,
delivering
some
questionable
lines
and
tolerating
violence
all
in
the
garb
of
love
and
repentance.
Also
Dhillon's
writing
is
inconsistent,
sometimes
it
stings
and
sometimes
it
limps.
Director
Vinil
Mathew
is
saddled
with
a
plot
which
has
some
disturbing
gender
dynamics
and
a
morally
questionable
climax.
The
filmmaker
tries
to
salvage
the
situation
but
alas,
that
doesn't
happen
by
the
time
the
movie
reaches
its
finishing
point.
Performances
Taapsee
Pannu
as
the
bored
housewife
tries
to
make
the
best
use
of
the
erratic
plot.
However,
when
it
comes
to
the
femme
fatale
act,
the
actress
is
barely
in
her
full
form.
Amid
all
the
ups
and
downs
in
the
narrative,
it's
her
co-star
Vikrant
Massey
who
shines
with
his
deliciously
twisted
turn.
Harshvardhan
Rane
as
the
'oh-so-bad' boy
is
effective
in
his
role.
However,
one
wished
there
was
more
for
him
to
do
in
the
film.
Ashish
Verma
ends
up
with
another
'hero
ka
best
friend'
act
and
it
is
not
funny!
Aditya
Shrivastava
pulls
off
another
CID
act
in
this
Netflix
film.
The
rest
of
the
cast
deliver
what's
written
for
them.
Technical
Aspects
Jaya
Krishna
Gummadi's
camera
work
is
in
sync
with
the
theme
of
the
film.
Unlike
Aanand
L
Rai's
other
productions,
Haseen
Dillruba
falters
when
it
comes
to
capturing
the
essence
of
small
towns.
Music
'Milaa
Yun'
crooned
by
Yashita
Sharma
and
Abhay
Jodhpurkar
stands
out
in
the
music
album
of
Haseen
Dillruba.
'Dil
Melt
Karda'
falls
short
of
being
a
memorable
love
song
despite
its
quirky
lyrics.
'Lakeeran'
and
'Phisal
Jaa
Tu'
blend
well
with
the
narrative.
Verdict
'Paagalpan
ki
hadd
se
na
guzare
toh
woh
pyaar
kaisa!
Hosh
mein
toh
rishte
nibhaye
jaate
hai.'
Now,
that's
some
'not
so-haseen'
thought
in
this
film,
which
falls
short
of
being
a
fitting
tribute
to
Hindi
pulp
fiction.