Story
Amid
the
sound
of
a
moving
train
and
a
sombre
background
music,
a
woman
is
chased
by
a
hoodied-figure
in
the
midst
of
the
woods.
She
stumbles,
picks
herself
up
and
tries
to
frantically
escape
from
her
attacker.
The
petrified
lady
seeks
refuge
behind
a
tree,
only
to
find
her
assailant
standing
in
front
of
her.
Cut
to
we
see
a
bruised
Mira
Kapoor
(Parineeti
Chopra)
standing
in
the
middle
of
a
railway
platform,
her
eyes
suggesting
that
there's
more
to
this
story.
Mira
Kapoor
and
her
husband
Shekhar
(Avinash
Tiwary)'s
happy
world
comes
crashing
down
after
the
former
suffers
a
miscarriage
in
an
accident.
Mira
takes
to
booze
like
water,
and
Avinash
finds
solace
in
the
arms
of
another
woman
and
ties
the
knot
with
her.
An
amnesic,
divorcee
and
alcoholic,
Mira
soon
gets
fixated
on
life
of
a
perfect
couple,
Nushrat
(Aditi
Rao
Hydari)
and
Anand
from
afar,
whom
she
ogles
everyday
from
the
window
of
a
train.
"She's
everything,
I
lost," Mira
candidly
confesses
at
one
point.
She
imagines
them
existing
in
a
state
of
bliss,
until
she
comes
across
something
that
shatters
her
fantasies,
and
forces
her
to
confront
some
ugly
truths
about
her
own
life.
Direction
Ribhu
Dasgupta's
The
Girl
On
The
Train
is
an
adaptation
of
Paula
Hawkins'
2015
bestseller
novel
of
the
same
name.
Unfortunately,
this
Parineeti
Chopra-starrer
has
more
misses
than
hits;
blame
it
on
the
flaccid
screenplay.
The
narrative
lacks
the
grip
that
a
slow-burn
murder
mystery
is
supposed
to
have.
The
writing
isn't
sharp
enough
to
keep
your
eyes
glued
to
the
screen.
Also,
the
twist
that
Ribhu
Dasgupta
throws
in
for
the
Indian
audience
comes
across
forced
and
leaves
you
disappointed.
Performances
Parineeti
Chopra's
attempt
to
showcase
emotions
ranging
from
betrayal,
agony
and
ravages
of
the
body
and
the
mind
gets
drowned
in
her
raccoon
eyes
(smudged
mascara),
and
that's
one
of
the
most
distracting
thing
about
this
murder-mystery.
Nevertheless,
the
actress
gets
her
shining
moments
towards
the
end,
but
by
then,
it's
just
too
late!
Aditi
Rao
Hydari
as
the
ethereal
beauty
with
her
own
'secrets' adds
some
element
of
mystery
to
the
plot.
Kirti
Kulhari
as
the
cop
exudes
power
in
a
scene
or
two.
Avinash
Tiwary
puts
up
a
good
show.
Technical
Aspects
Cinematography
plays
an
important
role
when
it
comes
to
building
up
an
eerie
feeling
in
a
murder
mystery.
But,
Tribhuvan
Babu
Sadineni's
unnecessary
tight
close-up
shots
of
Parineeti
in
a
few
scenes
spoils
the
show.
Sangeeth
Varghese's
editing
is
taut.
Music
Parineeti
Chopra's
version
of
'Matlabi
Yariyan'
stands
out
in
the
music
album.
The
rest
of
the
songs
are
passable.
Verdict
In
one
of
the
scenes,
a
drunk
Mira
expresses
a
violent
fantasy
about
killing
one
of
the
characters
in
the
film,
to
which,
her
friend
tells
her,
"Don't
do
anything
stupid,
you
will
regret
it." That's
exactly
what
we
feel
like
wanting
to
tell
filmmaker
Ribhu
Dasgupta
after
he
serves
us
this
train-wreck
of
an
adaptation.