irected by the National Award-winning director Mikhil Musale, the premise of Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video, sounded promising initially. The film, available on Netflix, stars Radhika Madan, Nimrat Kaur and Leena Sharma, amongst others.

It opens in Singapore where Sajini Shinde, played by Radhika Madan, is seen partying with her colleagues on their last night (coincidentally, also her birthday) in a nightclub.

Sent to Singapore by her school in Pune where she teaches physics, for a robotics competition, Shinde downs a few vodka shots on her night out at the insistence of her fiancé and colleagues.

After that, an inappropriate video of hers emerges. It turns out that someone recorded it while she was dancing with two men and then leaked the video on the school’s portal.

At the behest of the school management, the principal Kalyani Pandit, a role essayed by Bhagyashree, terminates the three teachers involved.

One of them, Shruti Vyas as Shraddha the school counsellor, has a verbal showdown with the principal and insists that there was nothing wrong with what they did but Kalyani, under duress of the school management and in a desperate attempt to save her and the school’s reputation, turns a deaf ear to her vehement protests.

Sajini’s fiancé, Siddhant Kadam played by Soham Majumdar, also gives her an earful. With no family support, job or a fiancé, Sajini disappears, leaving a suicide note behind in which she blames her father and fiancé for not living up to her expectations, forcing her to take this measure out of desperation.

This triggers an investigation headed by Bela, played by Nimrat Kaur, who is a member of the Crime Branch determined to expose the truth. Naturally, the prime suspects are Sajini’s father and fiancé, who are both extremely controlling in their own ways. Will Sajini’s fiancé and father be convicted under Article 306, abetment of suicide? With Bela hot on their trail, what will their next strategy be? Will they escape unscathed?

As a thriller, it starts on a promising note but falters due to a weak screenplay, slipshod editing and poor direction. The end fails to evoke any emotional response from the viewer and somehow, instead of rooting for Sajini; the audience leaves the theatre, disappointed at the failed attempt by the director to make it an engaging thriller. 

As the investigation proceeds, a lot of skeletons come out of the closet. The viewer is led down some blind alleys and at a couple of points, it seems that the mystery is about to be solved but then, the story takes another turn and another clue pointing in another direction comes to the fore. As Bela becomes more and more involved in the case, an important clue comes to the fore which has an important link to something discovered earlier. The investigation becomes increasingly complicated and at one point, the viewer is led to believe that everybody has a motive especially the two men named in the suicide note who tried to manipulate Sajini, as is revealed in the flashbacks.

Although there is an honest effort by the director to narrate an engaging story, somehow, in its entirety, the film fails to leave an impact. Radhika Madan as Sajini looks pretty but falters in the acting department. Siddhant tends to overact and fails to deliver an impactful performance, considering that he is one of the main leads. As Sajini’s father, Marathi actor Subodh Bhave is average; her mother, Sneha Raikar barely has any dialogue and also fails to make an impact. Bhagyashree is strictly average and somehow, her involvement in the entire case revealed at the end, meant to elevate the film and take the audience by surprise, is more of an anti-climax.

The film, although barely two hours long, with a handful of songs, struggles to engage the audience. Nimrat Kaur otherwise a powerful actress, fails to infuse the film with the excitement and suspense which is the mainstay of a thriller.

The film moves back and forth and is only interesting in bits and pieces, like a car which seems to be picking up speed but then falters, only to pick up again and this continues throughout. Screenplay and editing should have been slicker and sharper and a soundtrack in sync with the mood of the film should have been included. The characters (mostly half-baked) fail to strike a chord with the audience.

As a thriller, it starts on a promising note but falters due to a weak screenplay, slipshod editing and poor direction. The end fails to evoke any emotional response from the viewer and somehow, instead of rooting for Sajini; the audience leaves the theatre, disappointed at the failed attempt by the director to make an engaging thriller.

Maybe if the duration had been reduced by half an hour, the film would have made a greater impact because, honestly, the climax came across as trite and clichéd.

With some slick editing and a compelling screenplay the plot could have been turned into a nail-biting thriller. It fails on both counts. This one can be seen once, but maybe not in one go.

The writer is an educationist. She can be reached at gaiteeara@hotmail.com