Aitbaar

Mukul Anand's films always had a touch of class. And this remake of Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" is special. The plot is effortlessly Indianized, although it is difficult to imagine why any husband, however vain and philandering he may be, would want to snuff the life out of the beauteous Dimple Kapadia. She's a vision. Almost a match for Hitchcock's ice maiden, the incandescent Grace Kelly.

Cinema has never been such an effective vehicle for whodunnits. Why did a murder take place? That's something films tackle well. Not who did it. Even the original Hitchcock film was much too wordy. Anand has made game attempts to make it more visual but as a whodunnit it still doesn't work. The whole plot hinges on the key hidden underneath the staircase carpet. It's a bit too much, when the revelation eventually comes. Much ado about so little, you sigh! The other event in the film that makes you sigh is a sizzling dance done in skimpy clothes by Leena Das for Raj Babbar. Leena sizzles.