‘Esha Murder’ is the perfect detox from your Eid blockbusters
One of the perils of writing about a murder-mystery thriller is that you can't really divulge the details about what really makes a film great. In the case of "Esha Murder", one that audiences and critics largely ignored because of its unfortunate placement within the sea of star-studded Eid releases, including "Taandob" and "Utshob", it holds doubly true.
However, competing against these marketing behemoths was the entire point, according to what Azmeri Haque Badhan told me before the special screening of the film last Tuesday. "We never intended to compete; it was simply about making a statement. The statement was that I, Badhan, am here regardless of what happens. My name is up there with blockbusters and megastars, with an unconventional female-led film."
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. 
And unconventional it was. "Esha Murder", directed by real-life cop Sunny Sanwar, doesn't care about our frantic, ADHD-ridden brains that now expect fantastical action or mind-bending twists on every festive release. It is, sometimes to its detriment, a slow burner that takes quite a while to get going.
The plot revolves around the brutal murder and dismemberment of Esha, played by Puja Agnes Cruze. However, the film makes it abundantly clear that it is not just the murder, but the systematic subjugation of Esha by all the men around her, that is criminal. Not a single man in Esha's life, whether it be her stalker, landlord, or actual lover, respects her enough to give her any agency over her own life.
This is where Badhan steps in as the lead, playing officer Leena. From the get-go, she is a no-nonsense character. She is a strong police officer, but a heavily traumatised woman. It is the trauma that leads her to train, persist, and become a law enforcement officer in the first place, a plot device that pays off to its fullest near the end.
Perhaps a trigger warning would be fair at this point – "Esha Murder" is unabashedly gruesome. It holds little back from graphic descriptions and gore, attempting to portray the realities of such a gruesome crime.
However, the gore and the action sprinkled in aren't the USP of the film; it is the intrigue and setting. The dreary Mufassal town in Mymensingh is rife with mystery, and seemingly, every other character has something to hide. The secrets are, however, so well kept that a seasoned critic like myself, or the director friend that I watched the movie with, could not unravel them before the very end, to our absolute surprise.
The supporting cast of the film is stellar, with Nibir Adnan, Sharif Siraj, Sushama Sarker, Tanisha Islam Mahi, Faruque Ahmed, Misha Sawdagor, and Syed Azaz Ahmed delivering organic performances that are symbiotic with one another.
Nonetheless, make no mistake – "Esha Murder" is not without its shortcomings.
The aforementioned pacing issues leave a lot of drawn-out scenes, which lead to the audience squirming to get to the next scene. Absolutely unnecessary songs, in all likelihood conceived to promote the films, disrupt the film's flow. While the songs are admittedly functional, with Jahid Nirob's "Bondi Shudhu Jane" being hummed outside the halls immediately after the credits roll, the film did not need it. In fact, even with no experience in film editing, I'd bet a dollar and a half that I could simply throw out many scenes in the film to make it more compact, without hurting the plot at all.
Despite these flaws, "Esha Murder" is the grounded dudh cha after the hefty servings of biriyani that "Taandob", "Insaaf", and "Utshob" have given the audience. It is an underdog that, as time passes, will only receive more adoration from fans of thrillers. The film is an honest effort, with Badhan giving it her all, both on-screen and post-release, showing up every single day to promote it. Whether the content is worth your time is subjective. But according to an editor who has watched way too many mindless action flicks this season, this might just be the perfect detox.
Comments