Revisiting - Gupt

What does one look for while choosing to watch a movie? For me the first is genre, followed by music and then the cast. In the case of Gupt, its a murder mystery with chartbusters from Viju Shah and Bobby Deol as the leading man accompanied by Kajol and Manisha Koirala. For me it was a win-win combination. Gupt was the 4th biggest hit of 1997. It does feel weird to mention movies that I have grown up watching in this column, shows me that I am getting older :)

Film: Gupt
Cast: Bobby Deol, Kajol, Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Raj Babbar, Om Puri, Priya Tendulkar etc.
Music: Viju Shah
Director: Rajiv Rai

** Spoiler Alert** Plot revealed after jump.

The Story:

Governer Sinha (Raj Babbar) marries Sharada(Priya Tendulkar), a widow with a young son, Sahil (Bobby Deol). Sahil never accepts him as his father and disrespects him. Sahil joins college where he re-unites with his childhood friend Isha (kajol), the daughter of the Governor's secretary (Paresh Rawal). Also studying with them is Sheetal (Manisha), the daughter of a minister. Sahil and Isha fall in love and Sheetal also falls for him. Sahil's parents fix his marriage with Sheetal, unaware of his feelings for Isha. When they announce this news to everyone at his birthday party, Sahil gets upset and an argument ensues between his father and him. In the heat of the moment he raises a knife at him and is stopped by his mother. The next day he goes to his father's office to apologize and is shocked to find him murdered with a knife and holding a chain that was left behind by the killer. His mother who sees him at the office believes that he is guilty of the murder. At his trial, everyone who witnessed his actions at the part testify against him and he is charged for the murder and imprisoned. Before he is taken away, he asks Sheetal to safeguard the chain for him. At the prison he finds a way to escape and enlists Sheetal's help. Once he is out, he begins to question everyone who could benefit from his father's death. His family doctor invites him home to discuss a secret with him and before he gets there, the actual murderer kills the doctor and the blame falls on him. An honest cop Uddham Singh (Om Puri) is close on his heels, solving the case. One by one he eliminates all suspects and the cop finds out the the murders have been committed by Isha's father using knives from his home. Sahil is no longer the suspect and he finds the chain of no use to him. His brother accidently opens the chain which reveals a picture of Isha and him. He realizes that Isha  is the murderer and confronts her father. Meanwhile, Isha tries to unsuccessfully kill the cop and goes after Sheetal whom she sees as a hindrance between Sahil and her. Sahil tries to save Sheetal and the cop fires at Isha. Isha begs for his forgiveness and dies in his arms.

Post Script: 
The most important element in a murder mystery is the suspense factor. If that suspense is not maintained the whole film would go down the drain. Rajiv Rai needs to be commended for throwing a red herring at a crucial point and for keeping the audience's attention glued. No one would suspect Kajol to be the murderer. One thing that might bother the audience is why Sahil would take Sheetal's help and not Isha's. Also, when Paresh Rawal is arrested and the chain mstery wasn't solved you know that the murderer is some one else. The music of the movie is so good that I would still listen to it 15 years later. All the songs are good but my favorites have to be Mere khwabon mein tu, Duniya haseenon ka mela & Bechainiyaan. The background music is catchy. It is amazing how all the popular villains of that time are in the movie and yet none of them are the villain in the movie. Gupt completed Rajiv Rai's movie hat-trick and as far as I know, this was his last successful directional venture. The movie made me have a massive crush on Bobby Deol and I still have one till date!

Worth Re-Watching?
Maybe, If you know the murderer the suspense is gone but after 10 odd years, it still feels fresh when you watch it.