On reaching Shimla, Ria is introduced to the film's director, Muni Gandhi (Govind Namdeo), who praises her beauty and asks her to give a screen test. However, he does not allow her to take a second take or to contact anyone outside. Ria soon realizes that something is wrong when she finds out that the director has delivered the cassette of her screen test to Remon (Suman Ranganathan), a rich woman who lives in a huge mansion. She also discovers that she is being spied on by Rishi through a mask and that her hair has been cut and finger removed, exactly like the dead woman in the cellar.
Ria confronts the Gandhis and learns that they are using her as a pawn to extort money from Remon, who is actually Ria's twin sister. Remon had killed their father, who was a wealthy businessman, and inherited his fortune. She had also hired a hitman to kill Ria, who was unaware of her existence, but the hitman had mistaken the unknown lady for Ria and killed her instead. Remon had then hired the Gandhis to make a film with Ria and use her as a bargaining chip to get rid of the hitman, who was blackmailing her.
Meanwhile, Dev arrives in Shimla to look for Ria and gets involved in the plot. He rescues Ria from the Gandhis and confronts Remon at her mansion. There, they also meet the hitman, who turns out to be Irrfan Khan (playing himself), a famous actor who had taken up the contract killing as a challenge. A shootout ensues, in which Irrfan kills Remon and Muni, but is shot by Dev. Dev and Ria escape from the mansion and reunite.
Cast and Crew
Role
Actor/Actress
Ria / Semon
Mahima Chaudhry
Dev
Dino Morea
Remon
Suman Ranganathan
Muni Gandhi
Govind Namdeo
Rishi Gandhi
Madan
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan
The film was written and directed by Neeraj Pathak, who had previously worked as a dialogue writer for films like Apne and Johnny Gaddaar. The music was composed by Nadeem-Shravan, who had given many hit songs in the 1990s. The film was produced by Shubir Mukherjee and distributed by Sony Music.
Reception and Reviews
The film was released on 28 November 2008 and received mostly negative reviews from critics and audiences. The film was criticized for its poor script, direction, acting, and music. The film was also accused of being a rip-off of the 1965 film Gumnaam and the novel And Then There Were None. The film was a box office flop, earning only â55 lakh against a budget of â10 crore.
Some of the reviews of the film are as follows:
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 1.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Gumnaam - The Mystery is a poor show all the way. A film that had the potential to keep you on edge falls flat due to a shoddy screenplay."
Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film 1 star out of 5 and wrote, "Gumnaam - The Mystery is a laughable attempt at making a suspense thriller. The film is so bad, it's unintentionally funny."
Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Gumnaam - The Mystery is a mediocre thriller that fails to thrill. The film is predictable, illogical, and boring. The only saving grace is Irrfan Khan, who plays himself in a cameo and adds some comic relief."
Conclusion
Gumnaam - The Mystery is a 2008 Indian Hindi thriller film that tries to recreate the magic of the 1965 film Gumnaam, but fails miserably. The film is a poorly executed and poorly acted thriller that does not offer any mystery or suspense. The film is best avoided by fans of the genre and fans of the original film.
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