It´s been a long time since we saw Nana Patekar on screen. His last appearance was in the murder mystery gone wrong, Tarkeib. Well the actor strikes back with yet another murder mystery titled Vadh. One of the more low key releases of the year, Vadh has been in the making for some time now and released without any hype. Surprisingly the film is doing much better than expected, mainly due to word of mouth publicity, still it is not enough. You cannot walk into the theatre thinking that this movie is going to be a slick powerful suspense mystery. It fails on some accounts, but it is still a welcome break from all the stylishly shot but non-entertaining flicks which have released this year.

Our hero Dr. Arjun Singh (Nana Patekar) is happily married to his sweetheart Jyoti (Anupama Varma) and they are both expecting their first child. Dr. Arjun is a psychiatrist at a jail, and when one of his mental patients breaks free killing three guards in the process, all hell breaks loose. The killer has apparently escaped to the city and now the people are living in fear. The first murder takes place soon after the killer's escape. Dr. Arjun´s childhood friend, Aryan (Puru Raajkumar), is the first to be affected after his girlfriend is found murdered. While most people suspect the killer, Arjun´s police inspector brother, Vijay (Nakul), believes it was Aryan himself who committed the murder. Only problem is Vijay has no solid proof, so he cannot arrest Aryan. The next murder takes place in no time, unfortunately it is Aryan´s other girlfriend. While Vijay grows more and more suspicious of Aryan, Jyoti gains knowledge that the killer is going to target her next and she pleads with Arjun to help stop the killer. While Arjun sets out with the police force to find the serial killer, Vijay´s belief that it could be Aryan keeps growing stronger. And thus begins an intriguing game of cat and mouse which ends in a surprising climax sure to leave you a little bewildered.

Vadh has an extremely interesting storyline but the film itself is horribly put together. Bad production values haunt this movie like a curse. The movie could have been something to look forward to with a more slick appeal, however the dull filmmaking takes away from the final product. The first half of the film is racy with two murders and rapid script development. However the love angle between Nakul and Meghana is boring and unconvincing, the film could have done without it. N.S.R. has done a good job in many aspects. Some of his scenes, mainly the criminal's escape and the portions where the killer shows up in Arjun´s house are well handled. The climax has been executed well and the build up to it is commendable. The ability to keep the killers identity a secret is usually an uphill task, but here it has been done with ease. The movie keeps you guessing as to who it is till the revelation in the climax. Still there are times in the film where you find your mind wandering and wondering when the movie will end. To begin with the sets and props in the film are garish and embarrassing. The scenes with police investigations are handled in a juvenile manner. If N.S.R. was hoping to make a good suspense flick, then research was necessary, and it is apparent this film´s police investigation scenes have not been researched properly. The criminal's motives in the climax are not convincing. There are no clues offered to who the killer could be so you are left guessing anyone and everyone. To top it off the film suffers from such horrible production values that you feel tacky just watching the movie.

Performance wise the film makes the mark. Nana Patekar is his usual amazing self in the movie. He steals every scenes with his strong screen presence, leaving the other actors to blend in with the background. Although the performance is not without flaws, his scenes in the climax are very well done. Anupama Varma as Nana´s wife looks great but not too comfortable. It could be the obvious age difference, but she doesn´t seem too confident in this movie. She does a decent job of looking scared, but the spark of talent we witnessed in Grahan and last weeks Kya Yehi Pyar Hai isn´t present in this film. Puru Raajkumar is average at best. He is given no scope to act so his talent is left unused here. Newcomer Nakul makes an impressive debut. He shows confidence and talent, yet he is wasted in his role. A better launch platform would have been ideal for him. Meghana Kothari (of Prem Agaan fame) has absolutely nothing to do in this movie. She comes and goes from the film without any impact and leaves no impressions in the audiences' mind. Overall performances could have been much better had the characterizations been more taught.

All in all Vadh falls just short of being a good murder mystery. The script is filled with loopholes that could have easily been worked out. Periera Devraj does an average job with the cinematography. The screenplay and dialogues are passable. The background music makes the scenes a little more enjoyable. However the actual soundtrack is horrible with the exception of Jagjit Singh´s ghazal ´Bahut Khoobsurat´. Shweta Menon´s special appearance had the audience laughing instead of lusting. Vadh is an honest effort at a good film with a low budget. If the movie had any chance it has been lost due to lack of publicity and low key release. Still the film has it´s pluses, but they´re not enough to convince you to going to a theatre to watch it, wait for DVD.