Film Review- “Detective Sherdil: A Painfully Slow Film…”

By Shantiswaroop Tripathi

• Rating: 1 Star
• Producers: Himanshu Mehra, Rohini Singh, Manmeet Singh, and Ali Abbas Zafar
• Writers: Sagar Bajaj, Ali Abbas Zafar, and Ravi Chhabria
• Director: Ravi Chhabria
• Cast: Diljit Dosanjh, Diana Penty, Banita Sandhu, Sumeet Vyas, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Boman Irani
• Duration: 1 hour 48 minutes
• Streaming Platform: ZEE5 (from June 20)

After gaining immense popularity for his performance in Chamkila, actor and singer Diljit Dosanjh seems to be going through a rough patch. While two of his films — Punjab 95 and Sardaarji 3 — have been banned, his latest release, Detective Sherdil, which began streaming on ZEE5 on June 20, has turned out to be a major disappointment. In Detective Sherdil, Diljit tries to bring freshness to the role of a detective. Unfortunately, the film — which is supposed to be a mystery thriller — lacks both mystery and thrill. All it offers is a flat story and an uninspired screenplay.

Story

The film Detective Sherdil revolves around solving the murder of billionaire Pankaj Bhati (Boman Irani), who is killed by a contract killer. When his will is opened, everyone is shocked to learn that instead of leaving his sixty-billion-dollar fortune to his wife Rajeshwari (Ratna Pathak Shah), daughter Shanti (Banita Sandhu), and son Angad (Sumeet Vyas), he has given 80% of his wealth to his daughter’s lover, Purvak (Arjun Tanwar). He also bequeaths 10% each to his brother-in-law Bodhi (Chunky Pandey), who lives in the same house, and even his pet dog. The family approaches the police commissioner to investigate the case, which is then handed over to Detective Sherdil (Diljit Dosanjh), along with Natasha (Diana Penty) and Danny.

When Sherdil arrives at the Bhati household, he learns that Shanti and her boyfriend Purvak are both deaf and mute. Purvak was given a job in Bhati’s company because of his unwavering love for Shanti. But after Bhati’s murder, Purvak mysteriously disappears. The family suspects that Purvak might have orchestrated the murder with the help of contract killer Goki. However, Detective Sherdil is not fully convinced and also suspects the family members. Even the driver, who later gets killed, becomes a part of the investigation. Eventually, Sherdil places everyone in the house under house arrest. With his trademark mysterious smile and constant harmonica playing, Sherdil eventually solves the mystery and brings the killer to justice. But who is the real killer? For that, you'll have to watch the film.

Review

The film’s biggest weaknesses are its flat story, uninspired screenplay, and lackluster direction. It progresses at such a slow pace that it could put audiences to sleep. While the film begins with some initial intrigue, it derails completely within the first ten minutes. The entire treatment is so dull that even the characters feel lifeless. They simply deliver their lines and disappear. Despite having entirely Indian characters, the film has been shot in Budapest with a foreign backdrop, some international supporting actors, and several English dialogues — which not only feel forced but also make the film even more tedious. Moreover, there are no Hindi subtitles for the English dialogues, which alienates viewers further.

Detective Sherdil describes himself as a mix of Byomkesh Bakshi and Karamchand, but his actions don't support that claim — which reflects the weakness in writing and direction. He seems more interested in giving flirtatious glances to his colleague Natasha (Diana Penty) than actually solving the case — for reasons never explained. This film marks Ravi Chhabria's debut as an independent director. He has long been an assistant to Ali Abbas Zafar, but it’s hard to tell what he learned from that experience.

Performances

Diljit Dosanjh is passable as Detective Sherdil, but doesn’t deliver anything exceptional. Boman Irani, Ratna Pathak Shah, Chunky Pandey, Diana Penty, Sumeet Vyas, and Banita Sandhu — none of them are given any meaningful material to work with, and their performances suffer as a result.

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