Based on Hollywood thriller
The Girl on the Train (2016) that was adapted from Paula Hawkins s novel of the same name, the Bollywood version sees Parineeti Chopra reprise the role formerly essayed by Emily Blunt.
Set in London (like the book), the protagonist is a troubled alcoholic, coming to terms with her divorce. Mira (Chopra)’s daily train route passes by her old home where her ex-husband (Avinash Tiwari) now lives with his new wife. Mira voyeuristically keeps a tab on her ex-neighbour Nusrat (Aditi Rao Hydari), admiring how blissful her life appears. Through the train window, she sees Nusrat and wonders how anyone could be this happy.
Naturally, such a literary hit required a star-studded movie adaptation and Hollywood duly obliged. A few tweaks were made, most notably the book’s London setting shifted across the Atlantic, but, with an ensemble that included Lisa Kudrow, Edgar Ramirez, Allison Janney, Luke Evans, Hayley Bennett, Justin Theroux and Rebecca Ferguson, and Emily Blunt in the lead, large returns were expected upon the film’s release in October 2016. However, while Blunt received plenty of praise for her performance, including a Bafta nomination, and its $170m haul was almost four times its budget, its execution left many critics cold, with descriptions ranging from “exploitative melodrama” to “shiny trash” and “a flat and suspense-free tale of pretty people in peril”.
The Girl on the Train didn t warrant a remake telegraphindia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from telegraphindia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
BY VINAYAK CHAKRAVORTY
Don’t sit on the edge of your seat as you watch this, you might just fall off dozing.
They needn’t worry about comparisons, there’s scope for none. Ribhu Dasgupta’s Bollywoodised rehash (oops, adaptation) of Paula Hawkins’ bestseller of the same name is too lazy to recreate the slow-burn shock value of the novel and banks on a tangle of too many inconsequential twists.
Hawkins’ written work, an intensely psychological piece, was always a challenge to recreate on screen. A lot of the ‘action’ in the book is actually internalised and it unfolds as thought process of the protagonist. You realised this aspect even while watching the Hollywood adaptation of 2016, starring Emily Blunt. However, Blunt did a great job conveying pain through silences, bringing alive emptiness in her gaze.
The Girl On The Train review: Struggles to stay on track cineblitz.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cineblitz.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.