One of the central themes of Mura, other than it being a heist drama is friendship between its characters. So the introduction of its four protagonists brings with it, an effervescence of camaraderie that the characters share with each other. To begin with, none of them are really doing well in life – in fact, all of them are virtually jobless often spending time in indulging in a handful of chores for a local mafia Ani who in turn works for the higher authorities. As a result, the hierarchy of power is clearly established along with a blurry scale of morality that invariably makes its presence given the economic state of the characters. Yet, the power center for their group is friendship that transforms in the form of unity for the group. This is marginally extended towards the character of Ani wherein the loyalty of the four protagonists is evident in a particular scene, wherein a supposed land mafia deal being vandalized by the locals is met with a heavy bout of resistance and retaliation by the four protagonists, particularly after Ani is stopped and threatened. Clearly, the exuberance of youth coupled with their loyalty and camaraderie is on full display here.

The plot supposedly thickens with the introduction of a conflict that disguises itself as an event – the gang is tasked with performing a heist of snitching bags of black money from a warehouse situated in a neighbourly state. One glance at the tone of the drama reveals the fact there are lighter moments shared by the gang – in their quest to recruit two previously failed members of an erstwhile gang. This phase particularly depicts the calm before the storm in many ways, even as there is meticulous planning in executing the heist. But as they say, the obstacles come in any shape or form which is true during the events of the heist that promises and delivers some rather thrilling moments.

The proceedings are interesting given that the emphasis isn’t only on the measured heist that has transpired but also on events following the same. The character dynamics plays an important role particularly in the shifting relations that the characters encounter with respect to their master. The drama is layered in that regard given that you aren’t familiar with the hidden agenda (if at all) of the characters higher up in the food chain. All you are greeted to is negotiations and a bout of violence that stems from the fact of resentment on the part of a few characters. The events are intriguing and impulsive, both in the same breath even as I found myself heavily engaged in the proceedings and the individual trajectories of the characters.

The issue in the writing begins after a sudden turn of events that completely changes the trajectory of the drama. The rustic bouts of intensity suddenly evaporate, only to condense in a form of a revenge drama that drops out of nowhere. Clearly, the core of the drama was of friendship and the exuberance of youth that should have continued with regard to the conflict at the halfway mark. In a very sharp contrast, the events looked rushed even as the body counts began to rise only to pave way for a revenge plot. The writing turns to become convenient and cliched even while the drama picks up pace, moving from one event to another in a matter of a couple of scenes. Even the scenes involving a brutal hack do not quite go in line with a particular character, even as the film is tied up to the opening scene in a rather convenient fashion. The main issue was that the viewers weren’t allowed to absorb and buy into the events, while the focus solely remained to head towards the finishing line. The entire final act was the undoing of an otherwise intensely penned screenplay.