Dhruv Trivedi
‘Haseen Dilruba’ is an Indian murder mystery that follows the tumultuous marriage of a couple that goes to drastic lengths to save their relationship. The film’s seemingly romantic story devolves into a violent slaying, with the wife blamed for her husband’s murder. Throughout her interrogation, she regularly parses the works of author Dinesh Pandit and his philosophical and ingenious murder mysteries.
One book, in particular, plays an especially significant role in the film’s explosive climax, and even the dogged police inspector trying to solve the case begins to laugh when he reads the book. So what is the mysterious book ‘Kasauli ka Kahar’ (‘Wrath of Kasauli’) about, and does it actually exist? What about its elusive writer? Here’s what we found.
Is Dinesh Pandit a Real Author?
Dinesh Pandit is a fictional character who is described as a deeply philosophical murder mystery author that is first introduced by the film’s central character Rani. An avid fan of his books, she introduces her husband to the works shortly before they get married, describing them as unsolvable murder mysteries that take place in small towns. Apart from seeing Rani reading his books in multiple scenes in the movie, she also quotes Pandit repeatedly whilst being interrogated by the frustrated police commissioner.
As the mystery gets more and more convoluted, it almost begins to seem like the film’s story is based on one of Pandit’s books. Rani also uses the writer’s darkly poetic phrases to describe her seemingly illogical actions when questioned. Pandit’s quotes like “Eternal love is stained with blood” explain why she stays back with her husband even after he starts to physically harm her. Similarly in the film, the quote “In every unplanned crime you get one chance to hide it,” from the fictional book ‘Kasauli ka Kahar’ by Pandit, plays a pivotal role in the climax.
Dinesh Pandit seems to be a fictional author that is created to help drive the story and highlight its philosophical and poetic aspects that might be otherwise missed in between all the complexities of the film’s storyline. His fictional nature is also hinted at in the movie when the police commissioner, exasperated from hearing his quotes, orders the author to be brought to him, but no one shows up. Dinesh Pandit remains faceless throughout the movie.
In fact, the film’s lead Taapsee Pannu posted a picture of herself reading a novel by the made-up author and joked about Indian film personality Sujoy Ghosh getting inspired by it. If anything Dinesh Pandit could loosely allude to the British author Roald Dahl, whose works seem to have inspired some aspects of the film’s climax.
Is Kasauli ka Kahar a Real Book?
The mystery novel ‘Kasauli ka Kahar’ by the fictional author Dinesh Pandit is, as expected, a fictional book created as one of the many pieces of the puzzle that is ‘Haseen Dillruba.’ The novel is quoted by Rani’s husband Rishabh, who has only read this one particular novel by the author, and Rani is seen reading it multiple times in the film. In the end, as the police inspector reads the book and begins to laugh, we realize that much of the film’s story runs parallel to the made-up novel’s story.
The short story ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ by the author Roald Dahl is likely one of the inspirations behind the book that plays a central role in the movie. Dahl’s story similarly hinges on a recently widowed wife trying to prove her innocence from her husband’s grisly murder. The film’s angle of the elusive murder weapon, though not expressly noted in ‘Kasauli ka Kahar,’ is nevertheless the central plot of Dahl’s short story, showing that the film runs parallel to the made-up author Dinesh Pandit’s story ‘Kasauli ka Kahar’ as well as Roald Dahl’s original short story ‘Lamb to the Slaughter.’
Read More: Is Haseen Dillruba a True Story?
