London Confidential Movie Review - Another Pandemic

Mouni Roy stars in a spy-thriller that would have been better left confidential from the public.

London Confidential is a confusing case. After sitting for nearly 1 hour and 20 minutes with it, I doubt whether the film understands its existence. At one moment, it wants to be about a deadly virus (apparently greater than corona) that is lurking on the borders of India and China. Blink, and it becomes a relationship drama focusing on cracks in a marriage. What's more, keep on blinking and see teleportation from one location to another and back again in a jiffy. In London Confidential, sound travels faster than the scene. The voiceovers are played in the same frame(s) but give an impression of taking place at some other period of time. The story marks itself in the ongoing pandemic, but everything looks normal. Maybe you need to be an MI6 agent to figure it out. Who knows?

Written by S. Hussain Zaidi and directed by Kanwal Sethi, London Confidential displays beautiful cardboard cutouts acting as spies, enemies, government servants trying to stop another pandemic. Too late, it's out on Zee5. Since double crossing is a cousin of spy movies, there is a mole here whose identity I was able to guess way before the big reveal. Believe me, I was fascinated with myself. Didn't knew my brain could work when freezed. Is that even a word? Never mind - two words that can also be applied to London Confidential. Why, even the leading lady is far removed from things! Uma (a gorgeous Mouni Roy) is an Indian Intelligence Operation Head whose London cover is working as a Cultural Attaché in Indian embassy. It is she who comes to the conclusion of the presence of a mole. She is pregnant: a fact that is less obvious from the baby bump than Uma's hands, which finds itself resting on her stomach. Mouni Roy plays the part like a plastic Barbie doll. Her expressions remain constant with the changing situations. Or they might be a spy, hiding behind a good-looking cover. In contrast, others - Purab Kohli, Kulraj Randhawa, Sagar Arya (look out for his hilariously photoshopped image) - try hard to leave a dent. London Confidential doesn't let them through. Blame the writing, which reduces any effort to ashes.

A film is a collection of scenes placed in a logical sequence. In London Confidential, the scenes are less logically sequential and more conveniently manufactured. Take, for instance, what happens with Arjun (Purab Kohli). We see him in a fight and then in an interrogation, a normal interrogation. Okay. But then in the very next scene, he calls attention to the pain in his hands as a hot photo is passed over to him. There are more layers here than in the entire film. The theory about a possible double agent gives rise to a parallel misdirection. The only curiosity within me was ignited by the webcam. Yes, look at how it blurs the background on a video call. Perhaps, an intention to hide the location? I vote for lousy production.

London Confidential, like students a night before the exams, skims through plot points. My instincts warned me from the very beginning. The title appears like a TV show, and even it ends like one. Would it have worked better as a web series? I don't know - three words that can also be applied to the director.

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