The Buckingham Murders movie review: Kareena Kapoor is the heartbeat of this Hansal Mehta film; she has the right amount of pain and anger.

The Buckingham Murders movie review | Imagine: You’re visiting one of those fancy Michelin star restaurants, where the portions turn out to be tiny (what else did you expect going in, though?) You are served Hakka noodles mixed with shahi paneer, topped with pineapple – it doesn’t fit, I know. What if it tastes good, though?

The Buckingham Murders’ runtime of roughly one-and-a-half-hours is akin to that ‘tiny portion’, and the dish is a combination of the unlikeliest of minds coming together- Kareena Kapoor (as mainstream as it gets), Hansal Mehta (as realistic as it gets) and Ekta Kapoor (dramatic, what else). All three belong to different schools of thought, yet they join hands to churn out a film none of them have attempted before in their respective careers.

Kareena Kapoor plays a detective grappling with personal tragedy in her new film, The Buckingham Murders.

What the film is about

The story revolves around sergeant Jasmeet ‘Jass’ Bhamra (a wonderfully restrained Kareena) grieving the loss of her young son Ekam (Mairaaj Kakkar). She is assigned a case of a missing boy, Ishpreet, roughly as old as Ekam, and she refuses to take it on initially. Reminded that work is work, she begins to investigate. Daljeet Kohli (Ranveer Brar) and Preeti Kohli (Prabhleen Kaur), the parents of Ishpreet have a dead marriage. As the investigation deepens after Ishpreet is found dead, new angles unfold, leading us towards a finale which though not shocking, is impactful. Writing anything more about the plot would be criminal (pun unintended).

What works

Set in Buckinghamshire, The Buckingham Murders is decidedly a slow burner. Hansal, being the skilled filmmaker he is, wraps up the track about Jasmeet’s loss in the first five minutes itself, so that the focus remains on the case at hand. Proceedings are set against the 2022 Leicester Hindu-Muslim unrest following the India-Pakistan Asia cricket cup. This gives writer Aseem Arrora enough scope to come up with scenes and plot points which blend in with the tense situation. The film isn’t preachy, which is a respite. ‘Justice trumps religion’ is the only takeaway.

The first half of the film takes time to build up, and neither does it leave you on a high before the intermission card pops up. In fact, I was surprised when it came up just 40 minutes into the runtime.

But things progress fast as soon as you return with your popcorn tubs to decode how did Ishpreet die. If you are a hardcore Crime Patrol fan, you might just guess it right before the big reveal. That doesn’t take away from the film because it touches upon themes like drug abuse and gender identities too.

Performance report card

Kareena is the heartbeat of this film. Roughly 20 minutes in, you forget this is the same person who pulled off a constantly yapping Geet in Jab We Met so well, or a money-minded air hostess in her recent flick Crew. Kareena has the right amount of pain and anger, barring that scene where she screams out of frustration. It feels… like a tick on the list of ‘Things a Frustrated Mother Has To Do In Every Film’. When things are subtle, like holding back her tears right until the end, they are impactful.

Also, Kareena’s stardom does not overpower the story or other characters, and that’s important. Otherwise self-financed films often become vehicles for actors to satisfy their vanity.

Ranveer Brar as the short-tempered Daljeet fits right in, and proves his mettle outside the kitchen too. Prabhleen Kaur suits the part of the seemingly innocent Preeti Kohli really well. Shoutout to Mukesh Chhabra and Shakyra Dowling- casting directors for The Buckingham Murders who have assembled a group of actors fitting the bill quite well.

What does not work

The Buckingham Murder stays true to what it promises. Yes, the story isn’t something which shocks you out of your wits. There are no big reveals either which could have found their way into everyday water cooler chats. The audience for such films, from the POV of box office, is therefore niche. Slow burners rarely find mass acceptance. Here’s hoping that changes.