Directed by Pavan Kirpalani, “Gaslight” is excruciatingly slow paced with an average script and forgettable performances. Vikrant Massey does his best, but even he can’t save this sinking ship. The movie is visually appealing, but that’s where it all ends.
Meesha returns to her native palace after years of no contact with her family. She received a letter from her father asking her to come back, but strangely, her father was not there when she arrived. Her wife, Rukmini, informs him that she is on a business trip and she will be back in a couple of days. But Meesha can’t trust a word Rukmini says. She hates her stepmother and believes that Rukmini is hiding the truth from her. Meesha witnesses strange happenings in the Mayagarh palace and begins to believe that his father has died and his spirit now resides in the palace. Meesha is determined to find the truth behind the sudden disappearance of her father, and Kapil, the Raja’s right-hand man, helps her uncover the truth.
spoilers ahead
Was Ratan Singh Gaikwad assassinated?
Meesha knew her father would never prioritize work over her. She had been waiting for years for Meesha to come home, and now that she had, she was gone. The first night of her arrival, she saw the silhouette of her father and was convinced that he lived in the palace. After falling down the stairs and sustaining an injury while following the silhouette, she searched the entire palace, but there was no sign of Ratan Singh Gaikwad. Even though she couldn’t find her father that night, her presence still haunted her. She heard her father play the piano like she did on her birthday when she was a child. She followed the sound into the theater and reached out to take her father’s hand, but suddenly a black-gloved hand gripped her tightly.
Although the people around her refused to believe her, she knew that something had happened to her father. Her doubt was further confirmed when she met a gypsy woman in a temple who claimed that the spirit of her father was trying to communicate with her. She communicated with her father’s soul and told Meesha that she must flee the palace. Surprisingly, the next day, she received a call from her father. Although she said that he was fine and that she was looking forward to seeing Meesha, she did not believe that the man on the other end of the phone was her father. All this time, Meesha had only seen the silhouette of her father, but one night she surprisingly noticed her father’s dead body inside a car. She tried to open the door and rescue her father, but she was stuck. She called for help and when they all arrived and checked the interior of the car, there was no one. Meesha realized that someone was trying to prove that she was mentally unstable and she had her doubts about Rukmini. But to execute such an elaborate plan, she believed that Rukmini had a partner, but who was she?
With the help of Kapil, Meesha found out that Rukmini was quite close to the police officer, SP Ashok. According to rumors, Ashok had been in love with Rukmini all his life and decided to remain single for his sake. They continued to share a friendly relationship and Meesha had every reason to doubt him. She was also suspicious of her distant cousin, Rana, who seemed to share a secret with Rukmini. She had her eye on Ratan’s property, and perhaps she had devised a plan to share the wealth with Rukmini after killing Ratan. Meesha and Kapil followed Rana and Rukmini to a party hosted by Rana. They found out that Frog and Ratan had a deal, but things didn’t go as he had planned, leaving Frog heavily in debt. Later that night, they followed Rana to his factory and confronted him. He admitted that he and Ratan had come up with a business strategy to turn the palace into a boutique hotel. He had taken out a large loan and needed Ratan’s signature, but his sudden disappearance had completely ruined his plan. Therefore, it was obvious that Rana had no reason to kill Ratan because she needed his help to build his business.
Meesha also learned from Rana that Rukmini was pregnant and the baby was not Ratan’s. This further explains why Rukmini might have wanted to get rid of Ratan, as her husband would never tolerate such a betrayal. When Meesha tried to confront Rukmini about the baby, Rukmini received a call informing her about Rana’s sudden death. After Rukmini left, Meesha decided to unleash her father’s obedient dog, Commander, to search the palace for her father’s remains. The commander searched the entire palace and barked continuously on the dock. Meesha was convinced there was something on the pier and she asked her driver, Padam, to dive in and find out what it was. After some failed attempts, Ratan Singh Gaikwad’s body floated out. His body was covered in plastic and tied with tape and rope. Meesha’s doubt was now confirmed; in fact, her father was murdered and the body was hidden in her own home.
Who murdered Ratan Singh Gaikwad? And because?
As soon as Meesha discovered her father’s body, she was kidnapped. When she came to, she realized that she was trapped in a car along with Padam’s dead body. To her surprise, the man who worked with Rukmini was Kapil. Kapil drowned the car and returned to her house in Rukmini. It was revealed that Kapil and Rukmini were in love and one day Ratan Singh came to know about their affair. When Kapil was ten years old, he tried to rob the palace, but instead of handing him over to the police after he was caught, Ratan decided to spare him. He paid for his education, and Kapil ended up working for him as an adult. Ratan tried to strangle Rukmini out of her frustration when she learned the truth, and Kapil stopped him from hurting her. Kapil knew that his life would be completely destroyed if Ratan survived. To save himself, his relationship, and his unborn child, Kapil murdered Ratan. He later murdered Rana because he was threatening Rukmini and his plan could cause huge financial loss.
Kapil and Rukmini wanted to prove that Meesha was unstable and orchestrated various schemes to make her believe that she was delusional. After Ratan Singh’s death, Meesha would have inherited his wealth, but by proving his mental instability, Rukmini would have inherited everything. But his plan failed when Meesha found the body of his father. They had no choice but to murder her to inherit the wealth. Kapil was indebted to Ratan for sponsoring his education and saving his childhood, but as he grew older, he realized that the Raja was doing it solely to demonstrate his power. When he was twenty years old, he dared to try on one of Ratan’s costumes, and Ratan severely punished him. Kapil was stripped of his clothes and humiliated in front of everyone. Ratan mentioned that Kapil was not fit to wear the costume of a king. That day, his respect for the king completely vanished. He realized that he was just like any other man who was born into wealth. He was proud and arrogant and deserved no mercy. Rukmini was Ratan’s second wife. Meesha’s first wife committed suicide and Meesha later had an accident that left her confined to a wheelchair. Rukmini was a part of Ratan’s life when he was a married man and after his wife’s death, he remarried Rukmini. Meesha could not accept her father’s decision and distanced herself from him. After marrying Ratan, Rukmini realized that he was not faithful to her. Perhaps her absence was the reason she sought solace from Kapil. Rukmini was determined to protect her unborn child and did whatever it took to do so.
Explanation of the end of ‘Gaslight’: Who was Fatima? Are Meesha, Kapil and Rukmani dead?
Kapil accompanied Ashok when the car in which he drowned Meesha was discovered. He was shocked to discover that Meesha’s body was not in the car. Logically, it was impossible for Meesha to escape from the car and survive, which is why Kapil wasn’t too worried about it. The consecutive murders left Rukmini feeling empty. She never thought that in order to hide a secret, she would one day have to kill everyone around her. She had no intention of murdering Meesha and Padam, but in the end she was left with no other choice. When Kapil informed him that Meesha’s body had not been found, he panicked. She could sense that something was wrong, and she begged Kapil to return home as soon as possible.
Suddenly the power went out in the palace and Rukmini was extremely scared. She was surprised to see her family doctor, Dr. Shekhawat, at the entrance of the palace. He informed her that a week ago, Meesha had committed suicide and checked her body. Rukmini was extremely confused; she wondered if Meesha was already dead, then who was the woman Meesha was pretending to be. To answer her question, the woman got up from her wheelchair and said that she was Fatima. She confirmed that Meesha had committed suicide a week ago. Fatima was indebted to Ratan Singh for being generous to her during her childhood years, and when he met Meesha at the mental health center where she worked, she knew she was meant to take care of her. Meesha suffered from extreme anxiety and was suicidal. Fatima not only helped her overcome her dark thoughts; she also spoke of the good deeds her father had done.
Meesha decided to forgive her father and contacted him. He was glad to have her back in her life, and they were planning to meet her. But suddenly, Ratan Singh stopped receiving the call from her. Meesha felt betrayed and was convinced that her father no longer loved her. After she committed suicide, Fatima and Dr. Shekhawat orchestrated a plan to find out what really happened to Ratan Singh. Since Rukmini had not seen Meesha in all these years, it was not difficult for Fatima to convince her that she was Meesha. After drowning, Fatima managed to get out of the car and swam to the surface. Rukmini broke down, admitting that she had made a big mistake and begged them to spare her baby. Meanwhile, Kapil had returned to the palace and overheard the entire conversation. He attacked and injured Dr. Shekhawat, knocking him unconscious. Rukmini begged him to stop the violence, but he was not willing to listen to her. Rukmini realized that Kapil was driven by madness to inherit all the wealth. When he was about to kill Fatima, Rukmini shot him in the ear. Kapil never expected Rukmini to turn on him. He tried to get hold of the gun and, during the fight, shot her in the stomach. Rukmini fell into the pool and died. Fatima managed to escape while Kapil was mourning Rukmini’s death, but she soon caught up with her. He grabbed the rifle that Fatima was holding and tried to shoot her. But it failed and Kapil fell dead. Fatima knew that Kapil would overpower her and wrest the rifle from her. So, she blocked the cannon with Ratan Singh’s twin, and that finally killed him.
After the whole incident, Fatima wondered if coming to the palace was a mistake, since it resulted in multiple deaths. But he took comfort in the thought that, even in the midst of all the murders, he had found justice. Wealth that would have been inherited by people driven by greed is now being used for the education of various students. “Gaslight” ends with Fatima paying her respects to Meesha and Ratan Singh. Fatima continues to be an integral part of the Meesha Foundation, which was started by Ratan Singh, and children who were sponsored by the foundation found permanent residence in the now-empty palace.
