Different amongst the different. Review on My Wife's Murder

Anil Kapoor has long vacated the top bracket in the film industry, but he continues to churn out varied movies at a steady pace. This time around, he strikes a new combination with Ram Gopal Varma.

The title almost says it all -- a middle-class husband accidentally kills his ever-nagging wife and tries to stay away from the police's clutches for the sake of his children. There is also his helpful assistant and her live-in partner, along with a sadistic cop pursuing the case.

The movie isn't so much of a thriller, focussing more on the man's mind. The story proceeds very realistically, almost just as you would imagine what such a man would go through. In spite of the length being under two hours and no songs, the movie is still a tad slow. Story-telling is focussed and there is no attempt at digressions. A few minor lapses can well be forgiven.

Kapoor is the backbone of the movie and he gives his best performance till date. With a dishevelled appearance to strip off any heroic charisma, he throws melodrama out of the window. He seems to challenge anyone who thought his time was over.

Irani shows yet another of his dimensions and is top notch as usual. Krishnamurthy is perfect in in the little time she gets. Sen, Tandon and the rest of the cast are adequate. This is one of Mohile's better background scores. Cinematography and editing are adequate, without resorting to any gimmicks.

Phillip deserves credit for handling his debut movie so well. Let's expect him to do even better in the years to come.

Varma carries on with his assembly-line production of 'different' movies. Though most of them are dark and may not go well with family audience, he is to be appreciated for taking calculated risks when most others are content treading the beaten path.