This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2018) |
The Stoneman Murders | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Manish Gupta |
Written by | Manish Gupta |
Produced by | Bobby Bedi Sheetal V. Talwar |
Starring | Kay Kay Menon Arbaaz Khan Vikram Gokhale Rukhsar Rehman |
Edited by | Sanjib Datta |
Music by | Siddhartth-Suhas |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Hindi |
The Stoneman Murders is a 2009 Indian neo-noir crime thriller film based on the real life Stoneman serial killings that made headlines in the early 1980s in Bombay. The helpless victims of the mystery killer, who was never caught, were footpath dwellers in Bombay. They were stoned to death in their sleep. The movie weaves fiction around reality in an attempt to provide answers to the questions around the case. The Stoneman Murders was director Manish Gupta's first full-length feature film.
The serial killer dubbed 'Stoneman' by the media has just claimed his fifth victim and the case is still of little interest to the Bombay police. But to suspended sub-inspector Sanjay Shelar (for custodial death of a gangster) this killer poses an opportunity for reinstation. With the secret aid of his patronizing superior AIG Satam, Sanjay takes up the arduous process of tracking the murderer without any legal assistance. He asks help from an aide constable and friend Kamble whose wife has apparently run away. The official investigator of the case, Inspector Kedar Phadke, clashes incessantly with Sanjay. They, separately, delve deeper into the case, patrolling the city on their own. Sanjay takes the help of his informer Ghanshu who tells him about Mohammed, a cab driver operating only at midnight, whom everyone on the streets is starting to suspect as being the stoneman. Ghanshu is eventually also murdered on the footpath by the Stoneman. The Stoneman is shown to be killing people sleeping on the streets (beggars, workers, sweepers etc.). Another night the Stoneman tries to kill a beggar sleeping on the roadside but is saved by Kedar and some patrolling policemen. Kedar sees Sanjay and now starts to suspect him as the murderer. Sanjay finds that his private investigation room has been visited by the Stoneman as he sees vermilion smeared everywhere in the room. He also learns that Mohammed has run away from the city.
Sanjay contemplates possible danger to his wife Manali and asks her to leave for her village. At the railway station he encounters the Stoneman again, trying to kill another roadside man. Before he can catch him, Kedar with his team arrives and shoots Sanjay in the thigh, thinking him to be the killer. Sanjay escapes and the incident brings him closer to his wife who nurses his wounds. A search is out in the city for Sanjay now, who goes into hiding. He researches and realizes the killer himself is a policeman, from Kusumi Tribe, performing tantric rituals to cure impotency that calls for human sacrifices. He asks his trusted cop Kamble to tell this to AIG Satam, giving his research documents as evidence. In the climax, it is shown that Mohammed was only an ex-convict deployed by Kedar as a decoy to roam the streets at the latter's orders, and Kamble turns out to be the killer Stoneman when Sanjay arranges to meet him. Kamble attacks Sanjay with a stone about to commit his ninth and last murder, but both are saved by the police (Kedar and team). In a trap laid by the police in the hospital, when Kamble sneaks in to kill Sanjay, he is nabbed and the matter is closed. Satam and Phadke decide to hush up the case. Kamble is shot and buried in the jungle by Sanjay at Satam's orders. He tells Sanjay that he cannot be taken back into the police force.
In the end, a tantric is shown in Kamble's village performing a ritual, asking a man to make nine human sacrifices and this time to kill people in Calcutta. The story ends showing killings in Bombay and Calcutta in 1983 and 1987.
The research that went into the scripting of The Stoneman Murders involved an intensive search for newspaper articles dating to 1983 (when the killings took place). The director Manish Gupta and his team combed the Asiatic Library, the Government Archival Library at Elphinstone College, the Times of India archives and the archival departments of Indian Express, Maharashtra Times, Navbharat Times and other newspapers. Before this, the preliminary research done by the director was over the internet where a few articles about the Stoneman had been posted. The dates obtained from the internet were later used to carry out more detailed research in the libraries and newspaper archives.
Before the shooting of the film, the director and his team visited nearly all the known murder sites, like the area surrounding Tilak Hospital in Sion, the Gandhi Market near King's Circle, the area outside Matunga police station, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road in Wadala and one small street in Lalbaug. The visits to these sites were made late at night to enable the creative team to absorb a feel of the area and the eerie late-night ambiance, which was later recreated in the film in terms of location selection, photography and the general styling of the film.
The production team had to re-create the look of 1980s Bombay despite the fact that cars, shops, and advertisements had changed. The pavements where the murders took place were made of black tar unlike the multi-colored jigsaw shaped tiles of today. This restricted the shooting in myriad manners. For the wide shots of pavements, the unit often had to cover half a kilometer of pavement with black tarpaulin sheets to achieve the look of a tar footpath. The unit often waited until the late night before rolling the camera since they needed all modern vehicles off the roads. Often some vehicles remained parked on the road and had to be covered by black tarpaulins. Likewise, the neon hoardings and contemporary advertisements were hidden by 1980s style advertisements and film posters that were sourced out painstakingly by the art director from obscure raddi shops.
The sound design of the film was also done after thorough research. Hit film songs from the period depicted were used along with famous radio jingles and TV commercials of that era.
The music was composed by Siddharth-Suhas and released by Times Music.
The Stoneman Murders | |
---|---|
Soundtrack album by Siddharth-Suhas | |
Released | 2009 |
Recorded | 2009 |
Genre | Soundtrack |
Length | 26:22 |
Label | Times Music |
Producer | Siddharth-Suhas |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Qaatilaana" | Kumaar | Sunidhi Chauhan | 3:34 |
2. | "Sooni Sooni Raah Pe" | Kumaar | Suraj Jagan | 4:04 |
3. | "Stoneman" | Manish Gupta | Suhas Shetty | 2:33 |
4. | "Midnight At Matunga" | Instrumental | 2:26 | |
5. | "The Stoneman Cometh" | Instrumental | 2:36 | |
6. | "Killer In The Kholi" | Instrumental | 1:43 | |
7. | "The Chase" | Instrumental | 2:49 | |
8. | "The Ritual" | Instrumental | 3:41 | |
9. | "Requiem To The Stoneman" | Instrumental | 2:56 | |
Total length: | 26:22 |
Nikhat Kazmi of Times of India gave The Stoneman Murders a 3-star rating out of 5 and praised it for its gripping story and taut performances. "The film has an ample thrill quotient with the shadowy frame of the Stoneman flitting across on one hand and the police department, especially Arbaaz Khan, holding the renegade cop, Kay Kay Menon, as the prime suspect. Once again, Mumbai and its alleys which turn sinister by night, tower prominently as the perfect backdrop of a film which boasts of some high-tension moments. But the real lure is Kay Kay's full-bodied portrayal of the trigger-happy cop who is wedded to his duty, yet doesn't mind a bit of black money." [1]
Nithya Ramani from rediff.com praises TSM: "Writer-director Manish Gupta does a wonderful job in telling the story, which has a very realistic touch. Despite being a murder mystery, Gupta avoids gore and bloodshed, and makes it visually appealing. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat, occasionally sending a chill down your spine." [2]
Noyon Jyoti Parasara of AOL India gave the movie a 2.5 out of 5 and said, "Overall, The Stoneman Murders is an honest portrayal of 'what could have been'. But it's not as gripping as it should have been. Nonetheless it's a novel concept and worth a watch…for Kay Kay, if nothing else." [3]
Black Friday is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language crime film written and directed by Anurag Kashyap. Based on Black Friday: The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts, a book by Hussain Zaidi about the 1993 Bombay bombings, it chronicles the events that led to the blasts and the subsequent police investigation. Produced by Arindam Mitra of Mid-Day, the film stars Pawan Malhotra, Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Kishor Kadam and Zakir Hussain.
Sohail Salim Abdul Rashid Khan is an Indian actor, writer, film director and producer who works mainly in Hindi cinema. He is the younger brother of actors Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan. He has an elder sister, Alvira Khan Agnihotri. He produces films under his banner Sohail Khan Productions.
CID is an Indian police procedural television series created by B. P. Singh for Sony Entertainment Television India. The series stars Shivaji Satam as ACP Pradyuman, Aditya Srivastava as Sr. Inspector Abhijeet, Dayanand Shetty as Sr. Inspector Daya, Dinesh Phadnis as Inspector Fredricks aka Freddy and Narendra Gupta as Forensic expert Dr. Salunkhe respectively.
Shootout at Lokhandwala is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed and co-written by Apoorva Lakhia and co-written and co-produced by Sanjay Gupta, with Ekta Kapoor serving as producer and Suresh Nair serving as writer. Based on the 1991 Lokhandwala Complex shootout, a real-life gun battle between gangsters and the Mumbai Police, it stars Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Vivek Oberoi, Arbaaz Khan, Tusshar Kapoor, Rohit Roy, Aditya Lakhia, and Shabbir Ahluwalia in pivotal roles.
Garv: Pride & Honour is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language action drama film directed by Puneet Issar. The film stars Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Arbaaz Khan and Amrish Puri. Sunny Deol was the initial choice for Salman Khan's role, while Sanjay Dutt was considered for Arbaaz Khan's role. This film was Puneet Issar' s directional debut, dealing with Mumbai Underworld and politics in Maharashtra. The film was initially titled Sanghar.
The Stoneman is a name given by the popular English-language print media of Calcutta, India to an unidentified serial killer who murdered at least 13 sleeping homeless people in Calcutta in 1989. The name is also given to the perpetrator of a similar series of murders in Mumbai from 1985 to 1988. It has been speculated that these were the work of the same person, who could have been responsible for as many as 26 murders.
Rakht (transl. Blood) is a 2004 Indian supernatural horror film, written and directed by Mahesh V Manjrekar. The film stars Bipasha Basu, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Dino Morea, Amrita Arora and Neha Dhupia. A suspense thriller with supernatural tones, Rakht is paced around Drishti (Basu) who has an incredible ability to predict future with her cards and foresee certain incidents. Her client include an abused wife Riya (Dhupia) whose husband (Morea) threatens Drishiti with dire consequences if she did not stop counselling his wife. Mohit (Shetty) is a crazy mechanic who has a soft corner for Drishti. Natasha (Arora) a fast girl with a sensuous demeanour is engaged to Rahul (Dutt), a school Principal.
Andha Yudh is a 1987 Indian action drama thriller film directed by Dayal Nihalani.
Risk is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Vishram Sawant. It stars Vinod Khanna, Randeep Hooda, Tanushree Dutta, Zakir Hussain, Yashpal Sharma and Anant Jog in the lead roles. The movie is based on the Mumbai underworld. Randeep Hooda plays the role of an honest cop, Suryakant Satam, fighting against the might of a Bangkok-based don Khalid Bin Jamal, played by Vinod Khanna. The music is provided by Bapi-Tutul, Akbar Sami and Sandesh Shandilya, and the lyrics are by Sandeep Nath, Amitabh Verma and Sudhir. The background score is by Amar Mohile. This film was remade in Telugu as Mahankali (2011) starring Dr. Rajasekhar, Madhurima and Pradeep Rawat.
Woodstock Villa is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film directed by Hansal Mehta and produced by Sanjay Gupta and Ekta Kapoor. It features newcomers Sikandar Kher, Neha Oberoi and Arbaaz Khan in the primary roles while Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and Sachin Khedekar essay other significant roles. The soundtrack was composed by Anu Malik. It was filmed in Mumbai and Mauritius. The film, which was released in India on 30 May 2008, had a poor box office opening but earned mostly positive reviews. Sanjay Dutt has a cameo appearance. The movie is loosely based on the 2000 Japanese thriller Chaos.
Ghajini is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss. It stars Aamir Khan, Asin and Jiah Khan, with Pradeep Rawat as the titular antagonist. In the film, Sanjay Singhania (Khan), once an eminent businessman, suffers from anterograde amnesia after encountering the murder of his fiancée Kalpana (Asin) and sets out to avenge the same with the aid of photographs from a Polaroid Instant camera and permanent tattoos on his body. Ghajini served as the remake of Murugadoss's directorial Tamil-language film of the same name with Suriya.
Manish Gupta is a film director and writer in the Indian film industry.
Rahasya (transl. Mystery) is a 2015 Indian murder mystery film which is directed by Manish Gupta. The film stars Kay Kay Menon, Tisca Chopra, Ashish Vidyarthi, Mita Vashisht and Ashwini Kalsekar. The film is inspired by the 2008 Noida double murder case, which was met with some criticism by Rajesh and Nupur Talwar. The film was released on 30 January 2015 to positive reviews.
Adaalat (transl. Court) is an Indian television courtroom drama anthology series about a defence attorney, K.D. Pathak, portrayed by Ronit Roy. First season of the show premiered on Sony Entertainment Television on 20 November 2010 and ran for five years, ending on 11 July 2015. The series based events is produced by Contiloe Entertainment and stars Ronit Roy. The show aired 431 episodes in its first season.
Tirangaa (transl. Tricolour) is a 1993 Indian action drama film starring Raaj Kumar, Nana Patekar, Varsha Usgaonkar, Harish Kumar and Mamta Kulkarni. The movie was a blockbuster. At the time of 1993 Bombay bombings, Plaza cinema, Mumbai was also bombed where the movie was being shown, leaving 10 dead and 37 injured.
Mahaanta is a 1997 Hindi-language action drama film, produced by Ayub Khan under the Ayesha Film banner and directed by Afzal Khan. It stars Jeetendra, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Shakti Kapoor and music composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Filming began in 1991 and was delayed for 6 years due to Dutt’s arrests in 1993 and Dutt and Dixit breaking up their relationship.
Mahavir Shah was a noted Indian television and stage actor who worked in Hindi and Gujarati movies. He is remembered for portraying several villainous roles. He died in a car crash in 2000, when he was in the United States during a two-month holiday tour.
Jung (transl. Battle) is a 2000 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gupta. The film features Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Aditya Pancholi, Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shetty. The film has some similarities to the Hollywood film Desperate Measures.
Kaabil (transl. Capable) is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language romantic action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gupta, written by Vijay Kumar Mishra, produced by Rakesh Roshan under his banner FilmKraft Productions. It stars Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy and Rohit Roy. The music was composed by Rajesh Roshan. Principal photography of the film began on 30 March 2016.