Footfairy review: This intriguing take on a psychological chase is a foot short on chills

An inconclusive mystery is always the best kind. It leaves the audience to imagine every heinous and gruesome solution that even the author or director could not have conceived. Hence the fascination with Jack the Ripper, The Stoneman murders, et al. Kanishka Verma's Footfairy goes in a similar direction and has all the elements going for it. The only thing it lacks is a fear factor. Fear just does not come through the story, the visuals or the handling.

Vivaan Deshmukh (Gulshan Devaiah) is the Sherlock Holmes of the CBI, and like Holmes, he is in pursuit of his Moriarty. This master criminal is known as Footfairy, a name earned by chopping off his victims' feet. With pressure growing, Deshmukh turns to every clue, every accidental discovery to find his quarry. He zeroes in on Joshua Matthews (Kunal Roy Kapur), whose behaviour, fetishes, and mysterious absences points to the possibility. All Vivaan lacks is hard, cold evidence.

The thrill of a procedural drama usually lies in the slow revelation, the red herrings along the way and a hidden twist. Footfairy progresses in a steady linear beat with the same obsession as its calm protagonist. After a while, the direction of the investigation becomes predictable. This makes the heartbreaking event towards the end feel flat. Gulshan Devaiah plays Vivaan with quiet, calculated zeal. The actor makes the most impact when he is thinking. The other quietly assuming role is that of Sagarika Ghatge who plays his love interest, Devika.

The trouble is that the film plays itself down too much. While it is understandable that not all cops speak in punchlines or make dramatic revelations, the lack of either robs the film of some effect. The dialogues, while natural, feel a little staggered. Despite these, there is the slow, studious approach to the investigation that makes it feel real, not dramatic.

Another issue in Kanishk Verma and Ashish Verma's story is the lack of any red herrings, or a conclusion for that matter. It would have worked if the audience suspected more than one evil villain, or were convinced of the villain's guilt. The story does not prove either. Like Vivaan's superiors, we are left with nothing more than circumstantial evidence. This lack of conviction robs the post-climactic sequence of some interest.

The film is a decent experiment and has been shot well but the storyline has too many loopholes. Gulshan Devaiah, Sagarika Ghatge and Kunal Roy Kapur deliver decent performances. Ashish Pathode adds an element as Vivaan's Watson but the character undergoes very little development as the story moves on.

In all, Footfairy, like its eponymous killer, remains a mystery. Well begun, unfortunately, remains only half done.