The Violin Player (2015) User Reviews

certainly has repeat value !!!!

[shivajighosh · 8/10 · 24 April 2017]

I wouldn't say I went to watch without any expectations, the director's first outing Teenkahon was a commendable debut, the triptych capturing three different moods with a somewhat common soul acting as thread. I liked the way he paid tribute to the maestro Ray in one of the stories. His writing skills also shone in the third part. However, Teenkahon did not indicate much what Bauddhayan had in store for us. "The Violin Player" is a film noir, with the director successfully telling a fascinating story in 72 minutes. The mood is dark, the acting superb and the two main characters seem to be coming straight out of the dark alleys of Bombay, the Maximum City which never sleeps. Having said that, "The Violin Player" has technically two characters, with a short appearance from Nayana Dixit. I don't know if TVP had a separate casting director, though I feel its the director who picked Adil Hussain and Ritwick Chakraborty. Commercially a questionable choice, but Teenkahon somewhat showed the director's eagerness to experiment. Thankfully, it paid off in TVP. Ritwick is pitch perfect as the protagonist, Adil Hussain played the stone-faced filmmaker with much panache. All good movies have certain things in common that make them watchable more than once, one of them being creating magical moments that stay with the viewer after the curtains come down. I recall a scene in the early minutes of this movie, in Goregaon Railway Station, where the two characters have just met and about to strike a conversation, when a train crosses the platform. Adil Hussain's expression as he suddenly paused due to the sound of the train passing by, and Ritwick's numb eagerness towards what he expected to hear (but had to wait) made the scene truly magical to me. There are more such moments in The Violin Player, which ends with an unexpected (Hitchcockian? Hollywoodish?) twist. Bauddhayan Mukherji, you have raised the bar, I will be waiting for your third.

Suspenseful and musically excellent

[OnjiMooteDaMarle · 8/10 · 26 April 2017]

I saw this film at the Nitte International Film Festival in Mangalore (India) because it has Adil Hussain in it and the trailer was intriguing. The film started off slowly (It's at the end that the beginning scenes made sense) but picked up quickly. The violin background made even the opening credits worth a watch. It is a suspenseful drama but the highlight for me was the music. It was so peaceful. The cliché mind expects something to happen in the next scene but you will be surprised. This film shows the practicality of financial problems of a poor family in the big world of Mumbai and uses music as a healer for everything bad we would come across in our life. The actors were brilliant and so were the locations. It was such a short length feature film that I was craving for more.

Oh, yes: I loved it!

[ifournery-1 · 10/10 · 15 December 2016]

First of all: sorry for my English. Please correct me to arrive where I want to take you to. A film is always a challenge: it defies the sensitivity of those who watch it. I accepted the challenge. And I loved it. Probably most of the people could finds it too slow, or too pretentious. Is is not. We live, in general, surrounded by action, action and more action. This one moves action within the viewers and then, while the film progresses, suspense begins to grow and suddenly you are in the middle of a whirlwind and, finally, "The violin player" gives you two endings. Alfer that… I saw it again. I asked who played the violin, and the Production gently told me that he was the Musical Director. Well, I think he is an actor, too. It is really extraordinary. If I could write in Spanish, I probably would be able to express myself about the quality of the Actors, the Photographer, the Writers and the Director. Thank you so very much... all of you!

Suspenseful, intriguing and captivating, loved every second of it

[chetanuk · 10/10 · 4 November 2018]

Rarely do i write reviews....so i might not convey what i feel accurately. In a long time i haven't been so captivated by a movie as much as this. One ofcourse watches dramas like this alone to draw their own meaning from it (which i would advise people to do). It conveys so much more than what can be said verbally by the actors or me. Masterful storytelling, skilful acting by both the actors. A must watch and people will be pleasantly surprised.

Too long. I mean literally it is tooooo long

[irajbhattacharya · 5/10 · 6 June 2020]

There is no complaint regarding the acting of both the main actors. The story gets predictable after a certain time but that is not an issue. The main issue for me was the length of the movie. It could have been a great short movie of 25 minutes but it is stretched. May be that is to developing the characters but imo it is a bit long.

Excellent, sublime, unsettling.

[info-946-485036 · 10/10 · 23 February 2017]

One of the best Indian films of 2016. I had started watching it without any expectation but got hooked onto it.India doesn't make films like these anymore. I had seen the director's first film Teenkahon earlier. This one is a far superior film in terms of craft and storytelling. The use of black screen, the monotonous pace of the film, the two possible endings all have a touch of a master storyteller. Could have been a little shorter but overall 10 out of 10.

Adil y ?

[nnk-39990 · 3/10 · 21 May 2020]

Adil's worst movie so far his performance was not him at all , avoid it

Very very good...

[RosanaBotafogo · 9/10 · 1 January 2022]

If I could sum it up in one word, it would be disturbing, the beginning already adds a sudden interest, a simple musician, living in a very poor condominium and the emergence of a cockroach, a different and intriguing situation, and at a certain moment, we are the cockroach, the camera game, photography, ambiance, perfect, because it reliably portrays simplicity and poverty, and during filming, that uncomfortable situation, the character's embarrassment, a reflection of the moviegoer watching him... What was that plot twist , guys... Beautiful movie...

Slow cooker heats up unexpectedly at the end

[awvknj · 5/10 · 24 November 2021]

An immersive experience into a culture far removed from American life. As scenes unfold we see a man's daily life and challenges to earn a living that pays the bills; playing violin doesn't appear to be paying well enough to support his wife and household expenses. The violin music is beautiful; the filming used occasional abrupt interludes where the screen goes black while the sound- sometimes music continues. I didn't find that particularly helpful toward understanding the storyline although I suppose there was some kind of mood the Director wanted to set by making that choice? The film simmers along without knowing the plot or understanding the culture nothing made a lot of sense until the scene where he is asked to play extemporaneously for a film -the director wanted to add music to the footage he had previously filmed and edited. After a bit of a confusing start he completes the job -is paid and heads home in the dark. Arriving home we are presented with a shocking twisted ending- or was it? In the end the film does a great job of portraying the unexpressed rage and frustration of the artist who must sell his soul to pay the bills... But thankfully manages to hold it together somehow and not self-destruct .