Ajay Murdia, Mahesh Bhatt and Indira Entertainment’s Tumko Meri Kasam (UA) is inspired by the true-life story of Dr. Ajay Murdia, owner of Indira IVF, the first-ever fertility clinic in Udaipur.
Dr. Ajay Murdia (Anupam Kher) is a well-known and respected IVF specialist who runs a chain of IVF and fertility clinics in India. He is framed by his partner, Rajeev Khosla (Meherrzan B. Mazda), for attempt to murder him. After Rajeev’s driver, who was grievously injured in the purported attempt to murder, dies in the hospital, the case against Dr. Ajay Murdia becomes one of murder. How Dr. Murdia is proven innocent in the court forms the crux of the thriller.
Vikram Bhatt has written the story of the film, which draws inspiration from the real life of Dr. Ajay Murdia. Of course, some important parts are fictional too. Although it is a thriller, it doesn’t seem like one because soon after starting out as a crime thriller, the story goes into flashback and talks about how a much younger Dr. Ajay Murdia (Ishwak Singh) and his wife, Indira (Adah Sharma), had started the Indira IVF clinic in Udaipur and how the business grew manifold after initial hiccups. The screenplay, also penned by Vikram Bhatt, keeps oscillating between the present times (the courtroom drama) and the past (the establishment of the first clinic, the hardships faced by the Murdias, etc.). Resultantly, the thrill element is reduced so drastically that the drama actually doesn’t look like a thriller from any angle. If the flashbacks are boring and long-drawn, the court scenes aren’t any better. They are so slow-paced and laidback that they fail to excite the viewers or involve them in the proceedings. Consequently, the audience just passively watch the slow-paced drama unfold on the screen without feeling a sense of participation. Yes, some portions of the courtroom drama do afford a sense of thrill, but they are few and come too late in the day to revive the sagging excitement of the audience. Some emotions touch the heart but a more pronounced emotional quotient would’ve done the job far better. Vikram Bhatt’s dialogues are commonplace.
Anupam Kher does a fair job as Dr. Ajay Murdia. Why he is shown to be so laidback is not clear. Without the requisite fire in the character, the audience are unable to feel empathy towards Dr. Ajay Murdia who is the hero of the subject. Ishwak Singh is earnest as the young Dr. Ajay Murdia. Adah Sharma lives the character of Indira and gives her cent per cent to the role. Esha Deol makes a fine impression as Dr. Ajay Murdia’s lawyer, Meenakshi. Sushant Singh acts ably as Rajeev Khosla’s advocate, Tripathi. However, his constant fumbling for words, only to be prompted by the judge in the court, seems weird, to say the least. Aren’t lawyers supposed to be exceptional with words? Meherrzan B. Mazda makes his mark as the wily Rajeev Khosla. Durgesh Kumar has his moments as Kishan Khosla. Mohit Dagga is natural as Nitij Murdia. Adnan Khan looks handsome and acts well in the role of Kshitij Murdia. Veer Murdia plays Veer Murdia well. Vicky Dutt leaves a fine impression as Dr. Ajay Murdia’s driver, Devendra. Varun Akki is realistic as truck driver Shyam. Zamin Abbas Rizvi is okay as hospital ward boy Bhosale. Arbendra Pratap Singh is alright as Suleiman. Punit Tejwani impresses as Dr. Joshua Fernandez. Sushil Tyagi is adequate as the judge. Monica Sharma (as Shraddha Murdia), Neeva Malik (as Aastha Murdia), Gaurav Bajaj (as Prashant Singh), Manmeet Singh Sawhney (as Kanwaljeet), Gyan Prakash (as Dr. Ajay Murdia’s father), Kavita Pais (as Dr. Ajay Murdia’s mother), Rahul Rajpoot (as Amar Singh), Sushil Kumar (as Medical College principal), Namrata Sharma (as Art College principal), Monuj Borkotoky (as phone company technician Mayank Ojha), Rajneesh Kaushik (as the corrupt doctor), Vidhan Sharma (as kid Nitij Murdia), Mitansh Yadav (as kid Kshitij Murdia), Dhanay Seth (as kid Rajeev Khosla), Jitendra Kumar (as Art College peon Laxman), and the others lend the desired support.
Vikram Bhatt’s direction is below the mark. First of all, he has not taken care of the narrative pace, even though pace is of paramount importance in a thriller. Secondly, the drama meanders, often aimlessly, making the proceedings boring too. Thirdly, there are hardly any wow moments, so necessary in a thriller. Prateek Walia’s music is alright but none of the songs is a hit. Lyrics (Vikram Bhatt and Shweta Bothra) are fair. Vikram Bhatt’s background music is just about functional. Naren A. Gedia’s cinematography is quite nice. Naushad Memon’s production designing is appropriate. Kuldip Mehan’s editing should’ve been sharper.
On the whole, Tumko Meri Kasam is a dull fare and will go largely unnoticed.
Released on 21-3-’25 at Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru White Lion Entertainment. Publicity: so-so. Opening: poor. …….Also released all over. Opening was weak everywhere.