Dial 100 Review: Manoj Bajpayee’s Acting Masterclass Makes It Worth Watching

Review of Dial 100: Manoj Bajpayee is well-supported by Neena Gupta and Sakshi Tanwar, who play two grieving moms whose paths meet in circumstances that lead to the film’s ill-fated encounter.

Dial 100 Movie:

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Neena Gupta, Sakshi Tanwar, Nandu Madhav
Director: Rensil D’Silva
Rating: 2 stars

On a stormy night in Mumbai, a call comes in to a police station’s Dial 100 helpline, where a night-shift-as-usual is in progress. The caller is a lady (Neena Gupta) on the edge of frenzy, threatening to do something dreadful; the officer (Manoj Bajpayee) who answers the phone is already anxious, coping with a tearful wife (Sakshi Tanwar) and a little kid who has gone and done something he shouldn’t have done.

We detect something is wrong with the call and the woman who is making it right away. Of course, there’s a lot more to it, which is exactly the point. We settle in for a fast-paced, raunchy storey.

The idea is intriguing, and it contains all of the ingredients of a crime thriller. People who sound insane and are armed. Troubled police are chasing them down. Roads slippery with rain. And bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, All of the actors are excellent.

Manoj Bajpayee is on a roll right now, with his earlier appearance in season 2 of ‘Family Man’ still fresh in our minds. Neena Gupta is getting to do things she’s never done before thanks to this second wind, and she’s loving it. Nandu Madhav always makes a positive contribution to every film in which he appears. Sakshi Tanwar’s acting abilities have always been undeniable.

This story of crime and punishment, drugs and death, entitlement and justice, which clocks in at under two hours, should not have had a single lapse in concentration. The script, on the other hand, completely fails the actors; the sense of dread and suspense, which should have been ramped up throughout the picture, occurs far too seldom.

Characters in a film with fast twists and turns must ricochet off one other rather than deliver language as if it were written on a page. In a nutshell, it must zip. And not giving us enough time to discover any plot twists or loose ends.

It’s a moment when Bajpayee’s startled expression exposes the hidden fury raging inside him. There are more – when Tanwar breaks down at a pivotal moment, or when Gupta talks through tears and anguish. The sum of ‘Dial 100′ should have been substantially higher.

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