MG Films Garage’s A Stranger By The Hill (A) is a tale of obsession and deception.
Mahi (Purvi Mundada) comes from Australia to India to holiday in Manali. She meets Angad (Dishant Gulliya) in Manali and the two get physical at Angad’s house. Angad then locks Mahi and goes out. He has also removed her sim card from the cell phone. He returns in the evening but keeps Mahi locked up whenever he has to go out. One day, Noora (Noora Tenzin) comes to Angad’s house but he doesn’t allow the two ladies to meet. Noora works for Angad. How Mahi gets in touch with Noora and how the latter helps Mahi escape from Angad’s clutches forms the crux of the story.
The story and screenplay are very boring. The drama, therefore, is unable to hold the attention of the viewers for long. Scenes come and go one after the other but they leave the audience unconcerned for the characters. In fact, the drama hardly moves forward. Even the dialogues are commonplace.
Dishant Gulliya is average as Angad. Purvi Mundada does an ordinary job. Noora Tenzin’s performance is nothing to shout about.
Munindar Kumar’s direction is poor. Music (Joi Barua and Ibson Lal Barua) is not of the popular variety. Lyrics (Lal Barua and Vishwadeep Zeest) are functional. Background music is ordinary. Camerawork (by Arindam Bhattacharjee and Prashant Verma) is quite nice. Mukesh Kumar’s production designing, and Sacin Kumar’s art direction are ordinary. Prakash Jha’s editing is loose.
On the whole, A Stranger By The Hill is a disastrous fare.
Released on 21-6-’24 at Metro Inox (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru White Lion Entertainment. Publicity & opening: poor. …….Also released all over. Opening was pathetic everywhere.