88 Antop Hill
Encyclopedia
88 Antop Hill is a 2003 mystery thriller Hindi
film. The Story, screenplay and direction are by Kushan Nandy, Dialogues by Ashish Deo
. The film is a murder mystery and is loosely based on James Hadley Chase
's novel "Tiger By The Tail".
We then enter the life of a bank executive Pratyush Shelar (Atul Kulkarni
). He gets home late on his anniversary because he had to console an old college classmate about her marital woes. His own marital woes are worsened when his wife Antara (Suchitra Pillai) kicks up a big fight and leaves their home with their daughter Saanjh.
Pratyush is upset about this. His colleague Aslam Durrani (Harsh Khurana) picks up on this and suggests an exotic dancer Teesta (Shweta Menon
). Pratyush is too upset to be interested. But Aslam is determined; later that night he calls Pratyush and pretends as though some thugs are about to kill him; and he asks Pratyush to come immediately to a certain location.
That location is 88 Antop Hill
.
Pratyush arrives. 88 Antop Hill is a halfway house mainly occupied by exotic dancers and escorts. Pratyush walks into the flat Aslam had mentioned; it is Teesta's lair. She attempts to seduce him but he refuses her advances. Upon her request, he takes her to the Moksha club and buys her a drink. (He doesn't drink.) She remarks that the bartender Sol (Rahul Panday) knows all her secrets. While leaving the bar, their car is attacked by an apparently drunk man, who seems to know Teesta,but Teesta urges Pratyush to leave fast. When he brings her back home, he realizes that his car keys are missing. He waits as she looks for them.
When Teesta gets into her bedroom, she is mysteriously murdered. She stumbles into Pratyush's arms, fatally stabbed, and collapses. Scared and confused, Pratyush leaves immediately. One of the neighbors, a weird and on-and-off senile old fellow called Murli Mansukhani (Shauket Baig) sees him leave.
When the cops begin to investigate, they find that Teesta had a roommate Sonali Jasmine, and that Sonali is engaged to a prominent businessman, K.K. Menon (Sanjay Singh
). The investigating officer, and the hero of this movie, Inspector Arvind Khanvilkar (Rahul Dev
),starts his work. The prime suspect is an unwitting Pratyush because he was the last person to see Teesta alive.
A somewhat convoluted plot evolves. Sonali has several dark secrets and a good-for-nothing brother Prashant (Subrotto Dutta). Teesta was somehow connected to Sonali's dark past. Menon knows this and wanted to wipe out everything, including Prashant. He has Prashant kidnapped, and later he tells Sol to bump off Prashant. There is a three-way fight among them. Pratyush arrives upon the scene and witnesses two more murders. A dying Prashant advises Pratyush to go to Sonali at the earliest. In the meantime, the weird old man of 88 Antop Hill
, Murli, recalls that he had seen Pratyush and follows him to blackmail him. When Pratyush asks him to get lost, he goes to Sonali's house and tries to blackmail her. Aslam Durrani visits Pratyush, and seeing him, thinks he has probably committed the crime, saying that Pratyush would better leave the city and that he wouldn't want anything to do with the latter anymore.
Pratyush contacts the cops but a dumbwitted cop sternly asks him to surrender, as the police have found the murder weapon, and a blood stained shirt, with Pratyush's diary stating 88 Antop hill on the fateful date at his house. Pratyush panics and goes to Sonali to convey Prashant's message to her. She does not listen to what he says. Here Menon and the good inspector show up as well.
At this point the crux arises - the inspector says that he has found out that Sonali is actually "Sonali Shah", and she was married already to the deceased Neeraj Shah, and that it was actually Sonali who killed him because he wouldn't give her a divorce to marry Menon.He also says that Neeraj's house was ransacked by Sonali to find the marriage certificate.
At this point, Arvind also goes to the fridge and finds Murli Mansukhani lying stabbed in it! The truth is then out. It is known that Sonali murdered Neeraj and hid his corpse in the fridge, and murdered Murli because he opened the fridge out of curiosity and found Neeraj's corpse. Arvind also reveals that Sonali killed Teesta. Sonali says it was because Teesta knew about her marriage with Neeraj,and used to blackmail her, saying she will make it known to Menon. It was Sonali who had followed Pratyush and Teesata on the fateful night back to 88 Antop hill, secretly climbed into Teesta's bedroom and slit her throat. She further followed Pratyush and leaves the knife in his house to implicate him.It is then also revealed that Menon has murdered Prashant, at which Sonali is shocked.
At this point, Menon makes a last effort to save himself and Sonali. He tries to bribe Arvind with 10 million, saying that he must arrest poor Pratyush on charges of all the murders. To this, Arvind agrees and shoots Pratyush in the shoulder. But the wounded Pratyush releases gas from the cylinder nearby, and threatens to light his cigarette lighter. While he grabs Arvind's phone and tries to call police, Menon attacks him and stabs him on the sofa, and Arvind quickly turns out the gas. But the wounded Pratyush pulls out Menon's revolver, kicks him off and shoots him through a cushion.
At this point, a dumbfounded Sonali picks up a pistol and threatens to kill Pratyush. Arvind tells her not to, but she pulls the trigger- only to find that it is empty.
Arvind then apologizes to Pratyush, saying he had to wound the latter or else Menon would've killed Pratyush. Sonali is then arrested on charges of multiple homicide and attempt to kill Pratyush.
The film ends with the inspector relieving Pratyush of all charges in the case, and requesting him to take care of a pet dog for him. Pratyush's wife and child return to him.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
film. The Story, screenplay and direction are by Kushan Nandy, Dialogues by Ashish Deo
Ashish Deo
Ashish Deo is a script writer and film director. He started his career in March 1994 with ‘Vishesh Films’ – Mukesh Bhatt. With the television serial named ‘Chhoti si yeh duniya’...
. The film is a murder mystery and is loosely based on James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase
James Hadley Chase is the best-known pseudonym of the British writer Rene Brabazon Raymond who also wrote under the names James L. Docherty, Ambrose Grant, and Raymond Marshall. Chase is one of the best known thriller writers of all time...
's novel "Tiger By The Tail".
Plot overview
The film opens with the brutal murder of Neeraj Shah(Sachin Dubey). His body is dumped in the trunk of a car. This crime isn't committed on impulse. Whoever did it had good reason.We then enter the life of a bank executive Pratyush Shelar (Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni
Atul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
). He gets home late on his anniversary because he had to console an old college classmate about her marital woes. His own marital woes are worsened when his wife Antara (Suchitra Pillai) kicks up a big fight and leaves their home with their daughter Saanjh.
Pratyush is upset about this. His colleague Aslam Durrani (Harsh Khurana) picks up on this and suggests an exotic dancer Teesta (Shweta Menon
Shweta Menon
Shweta Menon is an Indian model, film actress and television anchor. She has predominantly acted in Hindi and Malayalam language films, besides appearing in a number of Tamil productions....
). Pratyush is too upset to be interested. But Aslam is determined; later that night he calls Pratyush and pretends as though some thugs are about to kill him; and he asks Pratyush to come immediately to a certain location.
That location is 88 Antop Hill
Antop Hill
Antop Hill is a small hill in Mumbai running north-south to the eastern side of the Harbour Railway line between Wadala & Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar Stations. To the south is MBPT and to the north is the C.G.S. colony...
.
Pratyush arrives. 88 Antop Hill is a halfway house mainly occupied by exotic dancers and escorts. Pratyush walks into the flat Aslam had mentioned; it is Teesta's lair. She attempts to seduce him but he refuses her advances. Upon her request, he takes her to the Moksha club and buys her a drink. (He doesn't drink.) She remarks that the bartender Sol (Rahul Panday) knows all her secrets. While leaving the bar, their car is attacked by an apparently drunk man, who seems to know Teesta,but Teesta urges Pratyush to leave fast. When he brings her back home, he realizes that his car keys are missing. He waits as she looks for them.
When Teesta gets into her bedroom, she is mysteriously murdered. She stumbles into Pratyush's arms, fatally stabbed, and collapses. Scared and confused, Pratyush leaves immediately. One of the neighbors, a weird and on-and-off senile old fellow called Murli Mansukhani (Shauket Baig) sees him leave.
When the cops begin to investigate, they find that Teesta had a roommate Sonali Jasmine, and that Sonali is engaged to a prominent businessman, K.K. Menon (Sanjay Singh
Sanjay Singh
Dr. Sanjay Singh/Sinh is a member of the Parliament of India, Lok Sabha from Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh, earlier was elected from Amethi / Amethi in India from 1998 to 1999 and earlier a member of Rajya Sabha from 1990 to 1996. He has been a controversial political figure...
). The investigating officer, and the hero of this movie, Inspector Arvind Khanvilkar (Rahul Dev
Rahul Dev
Rahul Dev is an Indian film actor and former model. Dev is known for his unconventional rugged looks and chiselled features and appearances in action films. He was meant to make his acting debut as the main villain in Mukul S. Anand's 1997 film Dus but the director's death while the film was still...
),starts his work. The prime suspect is an unwitting Pratyush because he was the last person to see Teesta alive.
A somewhat convoluted plot evolves. Sonali has several dark secrets and a good-for-nothing brother Prashant (Subrotto Dutta). Teesta was somehow connected to Sonali's dark past. Menon knows this and wanted to wipe out everything, including Prashant. He has Prashant kidnapped, and later he tells Sol to bump off Prashant. There is a three-way fight among them. Pratyush arrives upon the scene and witnesses two more murders. A dying Prashant advises Pratyush to go to Sonali at the earliest. In the meantime, the weird old man of 88 Antop Hill
88 Antop Hill
88 Antop Hill is a 2003 mystery thriller Hindi film. The Story, screenplay and direction are by Kushan Nandy, Dialogues by Ashish Deo. The film is a murder mystery and is loosely based on James Hadley Chase's novel "Tiger By The Tail".- Plot overview :...
, Murli, recalls that he had seen Pratyush and follows him to blackmail him. When Pratyush asks him to get lost, he goes to Sonali's house and tries to blackmail her. Aslam Durrani visits Pratyush, and seeing him, thinks he has probably committed the crime, saying that Pratyush would better leave the city and that he wouldn't want anything to do with the latter anymore.
Pratyush contacts the cops but a dumbwitted cop sternly asks him to surrender, as the police have found the murder weapon, and a blood stained shirt, with Pratyush's diary stating 88 Antop hill on the fateful date at his house. Pratyush panics and goes to Sonali to convey Prashant's message to her. She does not listen to what he says. Here Menon and the good inspector show up as well.
At this point the crux arises - the inspector says that he has found out that Sonali is actually "Sonali Shah", and she was married already to the deceased Neeraj Shah, and that it was actually Sonali who killed him because he wouldn't give her a divorce to marry Menon.He also says that Neeraj's house was ransacked by Sonali to find the marriage certificate.
At this point, Arvind also goes to the fridge and finds Murli Mansukhani lying stabbed in it! The truth is then out. It is known that Sonali murdered Neeraj and hid his corpse in the fridge, and murdered Murli because he opened the fridge out of curiosity and found Neeraj's corpse. Arvind also reveals that Sonali killed Teesta. Sonali says it was because Teesta knew about her marriage with Neeraj,and used to blackmail her, saying she will make it known to Menon. It was Sonali who had followed Pratyush and Teesata on the fateful night back to 88 Antop hill, secretly climbed into Teesta's bedroom and slit her throat. She further followed Pratyush and leaves the knife in his house to implicate him.It is then also revealed that Menon has murdered Prashant, at which Sonali is shocked.
At this point, Menon makes a last effort to save himself and Sonali. He tries to bribe Arvind with 10 million, saying that he must arrest poor Pratyush on charges of all the murders. To this, Arvind agrees and shoots Pratyush in the shoulder. But the wounded Pratyush releases gas from the cylinder nearby, and threatens to light his cigarette lighter. While he grabs Arvind's phone and tries to call police, Menon attacks him and stabs him on the sofa, and Arvind quickly turns out the gas. But the wounded Pratyush pulls out Menon's revolver, kicks him off and shoots him through a cushion.
At this point, a dumbfounded Sonali picks up a pistol and threatens to kill Pratyush. Arvind tells her not to, but she pulls the trigger- only to find that it is empty.
Arvind then apologizes to Pratyush, saying he had to wound the latter or else Menon would've killed Pratyush. Sonali is then arrested on charges of multiple homicide and attempt to kill Pratyush.
The film ends with the inspector relieving Pratyush of all charges in the case, and requesting him to take care of a pet dog for him. Pratyush's wife and child return to him.
Cast
- Rahul DevRahul DevRahul Dev is an Indian film actor and former model. Dev is known for his unconventional rugged looks and chiselled features and appearances in action films. He was meant to make his acting debut as the main villain in Mukul S. Anand's 1997 film Dus but the director's death while the film was still...
... Inspector Arvind Khanvilkar. - Atul KulkarniAtul KulkarniAtul Kulkarni born 10 September 1965 is an Indian actor who has won two National Awards and has superstar status in Marathi film industry after successful movies like Valu and Natarang....
... Pratyush Shelar - Shweta MenonShweta MenonShweta Menon is an Indian model, film actress and television anchor. She has predominantly acted in Hindi and Malayalam language films, besides appearing in a number of Tamil productions....
... Teesta - Jasmine ... Sonali
- Shauket Baig ... Murli Mansukhani