Top 10 Hindi Mystery Movies

hello readers of my blog. In this age of instant gratification, infinite distractions and instantaneous means of entertainment, books have lost their sheen, we are hardly able to focus on one topic before something else comes up to distract us. Reading books has become a chore and that too an arduous one, compared to TV and films where you don't need to be patient or invest mentally or financially.

Some people now even find films to be boring, long and uninteresting. This blog is definitely not for those folks. Some years back I did a post on my favorite English mystery movies, now I'm back with part two(after almost 37 months, insert awkward smile here).


10. Gumnaam - Based on "And then there were none" by Agatha Christie. 10 people are trapped on an island and they get murdered one by one. Manoj Kumar must find the killer before they are all murdered. Great theme music, good ending and atmospheric, the movie was spoiled by some very bad acting and ridiculous/illogical moments. Director should have stuck to the original plot.



9. 404: Error not found - This obscure gem which was released in 2011, is one of those rare pieces of superlative cinema but with a plot which crumbles on scrutiny. A brilliant student starts hallucinating after moving into a room that was occupied by another who committed suicide. Boasting of no star power this one is atmospheric, slow and very much watchable.


8.  Gupt -  In 1997, Bobby Deol, the dashing son of the legendary actor Dharmendra was at his prime and during that period one of his best movies was released filled with cheesy dialogues, fantastic songs , music and typical Bollywood action sequences. The Movie is a murder mystery where Bobby Deol's step dad is killed and of course he is pinned for the murder. The protagonist then goes out on a hunt to find out and catch the real killer, aided by Manisha Koirala and Kajol who were also in their prime, the movie is a Bollywood masala with a genuine murder mystery with a huge cast of suspects and lots of red herrings. Oh and it also has Om Puri!




7.  Woh Kaun Thi? - released way back in 1964, starring the enigmatic Manoj Kumar and directed by the brilliant Raj Khosla. The opening scene of the movie shot through the POV of a driver navigating his car through torrential rains is something that I'm yet to come across again. This movie is a must for msytery and movie buffs in general alike. The brilliant direction transforms even a simple scene of a person driving through rain with no music and only the sound of the wiper into an atmosphere of suspense. The movies keeps on piling impossible situations but in the end screws up everything. Had the ending been better handled, this movie would have been much higher on this list.

Worst mystery novels of all time

Well we have seen a lost of best of lists, best of Agatha Christie, best of John Dickson Carr, best of Ellery Queen etc. but there is no dearth of really boring and terrible mystery novels. So I thought I should do a list of the worst mystery novels of time. This list might push some buttons because I'm especially going to chastise a most beloved and celebrated author.

Here is my list(drum roll please):



5. The Arabian Nights Murder by John Dickson Carr - I hate to start the list with the grand master himself, but JDC has been known for giving some really boring and annoying duds. 'And so to murder' is another book which was I remember being equally sub standard. What pinched it for Nights was the farcical plot filled with absurdities.




4. A Taste for death by P.D. James  - Very long and boring. Not a proper mystery, can be used as a cure for insomnia. read the detailed review by clicking on the book link.



3. Trial and Error - The first book I read from Anthony Berkeley was the case of the poisoned chocolates, which was one of the most brilliant mystery books that I have ever read. After finishing poisoned chocolates, I had to get my hands on another book from Berkeley. I ended up with Trial and Error, which I disliked so much that I never got back to reading another Berkeley - The plot is interesting in the beginning but then falls so much in quality that its hard for the book to ever recover. Its also deeply misogynist and insensible.




2. Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie - Queen of crime she has given so many gems which we will cherish over and over again, but she has also given us so many duds which we will revile every time we remember those horrible books. Parker Pyne is of course the paramount of worst Christie books, it just edged out some other very strong contenders like the 'Nemesis'.

  

1. Wisdom of Father Brown by GK Chesterton - Worst book series of detective fiction, excruciatingly slow and boring. Bigoted, slow, racist and plain pathetic with very few positives. The whole Father Brown series is the worst series in detective fiction for me.