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THE LADY KILLER is the story of a man who gets entangled in a mess. Rajendar Joshi (Arjun Kapoor) runs a chemist shop in Nainital. He wants to set up a diagnostic centre but the bank refuses his loan as he is a defaulter. He is in a relationship with Gajra (Priyanka Bose), a married woman. One day, Rajendar’s cop friend Rawat (Deepak Tokas) asks him to meet Vikram Burman (S M Zaheer), a former prince who is now settled in Nainital. Vikram wants to set up a hospital and Rajendar realizes that he might benefit. Rajendar goes to his mansion where he’s greeted by Vikram’s daughter Jansey (Bhumi Pednekar). Vikram gets attracted to her and is moved when he learns that Vikram sexually assaults her. Both decide to murder Vikram. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Ajay Bahl, Pawan Sony and Mayank Tiwari’s story is fine and has a James Headley Chase feel. Ajay Bahl, Pawan Sony and Mayank Tiwari’s screenplay, however, is not effective, especially in the second half. Ajay Bahl, Pawan Sony and Mayank Tiwari’s dialogues are normal.

Ajay Bahl’s direction is disappointing. He handles a few portions well in the first half like Rajendar and Jansey’s first meeting, the lovers deciding to murder, the intermission point and the day of the murder.

From here on, things go downhill. Instead of giving a thrilling and nail-biting moments, the film will make viewers restless as they would wonder what exactly is happening. Moreover, there are gaps in the narrative. The entire track of Rajendar’s ex-girlfriend is not explained and one wonders why it is even there in the film in the first place. No explanation is given as to why the overdose of insulin didn’t have the desired impact. Lastly, it’s also bewildering that the cops failed to track the running lovers though they switched on their phones a couple of times.

The Lady Killer (Trailer): Arjun Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar

Speaking of performances, Arjun Kapoor looks dashing and does well, more so in the finale. Bhumi Pednekar rocks the show. It’s a very difficult and challenging character but she pulls it off with ease. Priyanka Bose is terrific and her character’s actions save the film from becoming a disaster. S M Zaheer and Deepak Tokas are okay. Ekavali Khanna (Madhuri) and Denzil Smith (Dr Khurana) leave a mark.

THE LADY KILLER is a song-less film. Ketan Sodha’s background score is intriguing. Anuj Dhawan’s cinematography is spectacular. The snow-capped ranges are beautifully captured by the lensman. Rita Ghosh’s production design is appealing. Eka Lakhani and Seerat Kaur’s costumes are stylish and at the same time, realistic. Aezaz Gulab’s action is fair.  Pranav Mistry’s editing is jerky.

On the whole, THE LADY KILLER fails to entice because of a weak second half. At the box office, it got a token and a limited release with no buzz or awareness whatsoever and will therefore meet with a disastrous fate.