Vidya Balan's 'Neeyat' promises a taut whodunit mystery

Mumbai, June 22 (IANS) The trailer of the upcoming film 'Neeyat' which stars Vidya Balan in the lead, was unveiled on Thursday. With a length of over 2 minutes and 24 seconds, the trailer paints a riveting picture of a whodunit mystery.

It begins with Ram Kapoor's character of billionaire, Ashish Kapoor, organising a gathering at his castle in Scotland. As the celebrations go on in full swing, Ashish jumps off from the cliff leaving everyone flabbergasted. Enters Vidya Balan, a detective, Mira Rao who breaks the news to Kapoor's guests that this one is not a suicide but a murder.

The movie also stars Rahul Bose, Neeraj Kabi, Amrita Puri, Shahana Goswami, Niki Walia, Dipannita Sharma, Shashank Arora, Prajakta Koli, Danesh Razvi, Ishika Mehra and Madhav Deval in pivotal roles.

The trailer reminds of the Daniel Craig-starrer 'Knives Out' with a dysfunctional family and their web of secrets acting as the central themes.

Speaking about her experience of working in 'Neeyat' and returning to the big screen, Vidya Balan said, "What I enjoy most about being an actor is the opportunity to live the life of a different person with every character I play. In Neeyat, Detective Mira Rao is not your everyday, classic detective which is what made it great fun for me".

The film has been directed by Anu Menon, who earlier directed Vidya in 'Shakuntala Devi'.

"Not only did I get a chance to sink my teeth into an unusual and quirky character but I also got to work with a powerful set of co-actors. This film is my second outing with Anu after 'Shakuntala Devi'. I have had the most amazing time working with them to make this film. Last but not the least, I'm supremely delighted to be back in theatres with the release of Neeyat and am waiting with bated breath for audience reactions," the actress added.

'Neeyat' marks Vidya Balan's return to theatres after her successful digital stint with the family entertainer 'Shakuntala Devi' to the critically hailed 'Sherni' and 'Jalsa'.

The film has been written by Anu Menon, Priya Venkataraman, Advaita Kala and Girvani Dhyani with dialogues by Kausar Munir. It is produced by the Vikram Malhotra-led Abundantia Entertainment (that also produced Shakuntala Devi, Sherni and Jalsa), and co-produced by Prime Video.

'Neeyat' will release in theatres worldwide on July 7.