The announcement that our Society would be ‘power-less’ for the whole day due to repairs, prompted our escape to the cooler confines of a PVR theatre, hoping that the film would be watchable. Thanks to positive media reviews preceding it, we opted for much-hyped ‘Drishyam 3’- (having seen the Parts 1 & 2 & enjoyed it) to revel in our rare afternoon date with a juicy thriller ! The film was ‘paisa vasool’, edge-of-the-seat stuff. Proviso is you should’ve at least seen Part 1 where the plot thickens & spills over to Parts 2 & 3. No more spoilers here !
What’s it about the ‘thriller’ genre that has engaged the mind so completely that it never ceased to attract readers and audiences across all ages. Over the years, script writers and story-tellers have created fictional themes variously known as ‘whodunits’, ‘murder mysteries’ and ‘detective stories’ churning out classic novels and films. Is it because generally our lives lack excitement, there’s no cat-and-mouse game being played (except bills chasing us), our jobs lack ‘heroism’ and no nice ‘surprise endings’ end of the day !
Most of us recall the classic ‘Rebecca’ by Daphne Du Maurier and being hooked till the end as the enigmatic late mistress of ‘Manderly’ mansion, ‘Rebecca’ & the spooky housekeeper casts eerie shadows over the protagonists. However, our early years were consumed by marveling at incredible workings of Conan Doyle’s ace sleuth Sherlock Holmes super-mind through ‘observation’ and ‘deduction’ which left us as bewildered as his friend Dr.Watson. Later, me & my teacher wife who taught the iconic ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ to her young students, often discussed the nuances of a spine-chilling plot- such a classic ‘detective’ fiction that has many film versions.
However, it was the ‘Queen of Crime Novels’ Agatha Christie who converted us as die-hard fans devouring all her stories- from ‘Witness for the Prosecution’ to ‘Ten Little Niggers’ & ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ & many others, each a gem of a crime story spun with the obvious suspects, red herrings & dubious characters. Both her legendary sleuths, Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple had their own methods. Poirot was sure of his ‘grey cells’ and powers to piece together facts to complete the jigsaw puzzle while Miss Marple used her deep knowledge of human nature that never really changes anywhere. The mystery writer also ensures that you look at the picture from the wrong angle and it’s the perceptive brilliance of ace detectives that discovers the truth hidden in the facts.
Alas, the ‘thriller’ genre of today has undergone a shift from the simple ‘murder mystery’ to violence, gore of slaughter of ‘serial killings’ that in a way reflects the transformed social milieu – the pathological hatred replaces crimes of passion. Give us back the old Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece plot of ‘Dial M for Murder’-wealthy man hires someone to bump off his wife but things go awry and the wrong person gets bumped off. Thrilling !
