Munish Bhardwaj’s Moh Maya Money starts off as unsteadily as it ends, but comes with a lot in the middle to chew on. Aman (Ranvir Shorey) and Divya (Neha Dhupia) are a chalk-n-cheese Delhi couple. One belongs to the high society media world, the other rooted in the rough and tumble of the banal real estate business. Both are ambitious in their own way, have their own goals in life. One has dreams of flying high abroad, other wants to rise above his middle class life and is willing to take any risks to reap profit. Both also have skeletons in their respective cupboards that come tumbling out when a big scam Aman has been involved in is unearthed. It’s Aman’s business deals and manoeuvring — how he cheats his own company of money — that get totally confusing even though the larger picture remains true to the ethos and culture of the Capital’s builder community.
Will Divya help Aman get out of trouble? It’s in the latter portions that the film begins to come on its own. It may not be entirely plausible nor wholly unpredictable; the reveals, twists and turns may not be entirely unforeseen. But the film becomes gripping as it coasts along. It’s about how uncontrolled greed brings the sinister to the fore, how desperation within a person can unleash evil forces on the world around, and how guilt can exist in an individual even as he is committing an abhorrent crime. It’s these almost Hitchcockian touches that reach out, as does Shorey’s performance: menacing, irredeemable, yet vulnerable at the same time. But no sooner do things settle down that they get endlessly stretched, and Bhardwaj ends up serving a slapdash climax.
Moh Maya Money unfolds through three different perspectives, which establish the lies and deceptions underlying not just the money dealings but personal relationships as well.
Eventually, it becomes as much about the breakdown in communication between two individuals as it is about the breakdown in trust in a business. It’s all about corruption in money matters and in the moral compass as well. It’s unwittingly relevant to the times even if conceptualised a long time ago.
Moh Maya Money
Director: Munish Bhardwaj
Starring: Ranvir Shorey, Neha Dhupia, Vidushi Mehra
Runtime: 109 mins
