This thoroughly engrossing, highly anticipated picture boasts assured direction by sophomore helmer Reema Kagti, a well-constructed script by Kagti and fellow femme writer Zoya Akhtar, and strong thesping by familiar Bollywood luminaries Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji.

It's very much a Hindi film, but updated and delivered with conviction and style.

Some thrillers are described as taut. Talaash isn't taut, but loose and messy, the better to allow life's jagged edges to disturb the muscular, controlled world that its protagonist, Surjan "Suri" Shekhawat, has created for himself. When those inevitable cracks appear in Suri's world, the film grabs on tight and doesn't let go.

The provocative noir experience that Talaash promises, with its jazzily scored, moodily lighted opening montage of a Mumbai red-light district at night, is nowhere to be found once this meandering mystery begins.