294. Murder 2

It's July 10 and everyfilmin2011 may well have discovered the villain of the year.
Prashant Narayanan is unnervingly convincing as the woman-hating, yet cross-dressing, Dheeraj Pandey, a serial killer who preys on prostitutes.
Pandey might be wicked but he is utterly bonkers which gives Goa police ample time to nail him.
However, they fail because they have either got their eyes on other things or are simply incompetent.
This leaves the way for Emraan Hashmi, as a disgraced former police officer to try to solve their case for them.
Hashmi is also excellent as the anti-hero Arjun Bhagwaat. He has become something of a Bollywood pin-up, despite his 1980s-style mullet haircut and fringe which looks like its been shaped by a bowl on his head.
I have just read that Murder 2 is based on the excellent South Korean movie the Chaser. It is by far the grittiest Indian film I've seen this year.
In fact, it proves that Bollywood can come up with an edge of the seat thriller without incongruous music interludes.
It is also the nearest thing I've seen to an Indian movie being erotic - the opening credits come with a sexy dancer who would make Lady Gaga blush.
Hashmi also has a bedroom tangle with leading lady Jacqueline Fernandez which is particularly raunchy.
To western eyes it will seem a little odd that for all this bump and grind you never see even a flash of a boob. The funny thing is that perhaps that makes it even more sexy.
It's the drama which really grabs, though, and mention should be made of the excellent part performed by Sulagna Panigrahi, making her feature debut. She plays a young student, forced for financial reasons into life as a call girl. Her first customer is the evil Pandey - need I say more?
So, the final verdict on Murder 2? I reckon it's the best Indian film I've seen this year and am giving it 8.5/10.