Detective Sherdil (2025) Review!!

Synopsis – Set in Budapest, the narrative centres around the mysterious murder of billionaire tycoon Pankaj Bhatti. What begins as a suspected hate crime quickly spirals into a complex web of family secrets, billion-dollar motives, and betrayal. Detective Sherdil teams up with Natasha, a composed and sharp investigator, to unravel the intricacies of the case.

My Take – Whodunits are all rage right now, with every streaming platform churning out adaptations (with a few original ones here and there) nearly every week. Hence, every filmmaker, particularly the ones trying to make a name for themselves, has been trying to add their spin to the soon to stale genre. With most missing than hitting, all trying to imitate the success of Knives Out (2019) rather than trying to bring something fresh to the table.

Such is also the case of this directorial debut of Ravi Chhabriya, who has mainly served as a second unit and assistant director to Sultan (2016) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) helmer Ali Abbas Zafar (also among the main producers here), which has flashes of potential with its intriguing setup, one know-it-all detective, a bunch of suspects, a rich family and a fight for inheritance. From every possible angle, this ZEE5 release looks perfect on paper.

However, the execution is frustratingly uneven. To make matters worse, the mystery at the center of the premise leans so heavily on predictable genre tropes that even the supposed twists feel painfully obvious. The narrative attempts to deliver a snappy dark comedy thriller, but instead ends up feeling more like a checklist of missed opportunities.

Sure, Diljit Dosanjh‘s effortless charm and ability as the titular detective keeps us engaged, but there is a limit to which even the global star can carry a flat story that has already cracked in your mind that too in the first act itself.

Set in Budapest, the story follows Detective Sherdil (Diljit Dosanjh), a witty and unorthodox investigator, who is pulled out of vacation and forced to join Detective Natasha (Diana Penty), to solve the brutal of murder of Pankaj Bhatti (Boman Irani). A mighty businessman who was murdered in the middle of a secluded road, riddled with bullets in his own car.

Since then, his driver has disappeared and so has Purvak (Arjun Tanwar), his accountant and the boyfriend of Pankaj’s hearing and speech-impaired daughter, Shanti (Banita Sandhu).

On top of that, his will has left a significant portion of his wealth to Purvak and the family dog Rabbit, leaving Pankaj’s wife Rajeshvari (Ratna Pathak Shah), their son, Angad (Sumeet Vyas) and daughter-in-law Elizabeth (Sarah Barlondo) sour eyed. Soon enough, the once-innocent-looking characters begin to look suspicious, and the seekers themselves come under scrutiny.

What follows is a rather straightforward mystery as Sherdil’s interactions with other characters are breezy but never deep enough to make you emotionally invest in the stakes. One of the bigger problems here is that screenplay doesn’t have the necessary tension and pace essential for a gripping story like this one. The film wants to be slick and quirky but doesn’t never goes beyond the surface-level embellishments. Some scenes lean too heavily into sketch-like comedy, occasionally breaking the narrative rhythm.

Even the stakes never feel high enough, and every twist seems conveyed even before it arrives. Even the reveals that are meant to add intrigue and tie up all ends, feel more like fillers. More like convenient explanations rather than genuine revelations. A result of which the narrative tries to engage with quirky stylized editing techniques.

Which honestly are fun to watch as scenes dissolve into one another, nights turn into days through match cuts, and there’s also an eclectic mix of electronic music heard through it it all. But sadly, it is never enough to win you over completely.

Performance wise, Diljit Dosanjh brings his trademark likability, charm and wit to the character, however, his character often slips back and forth into caricature, which often takes away the seriousness of the mystery. Diana Penty too is wasted in an underwritten role.

Boman Irani makes the most of his limited screen time, while Ratna Pathak Shah, Sumeet Vyas, Banita Sandhu, Arjun Tanwar, Kashmira Irani, Sarah Barlondo and Chunky Panday bring sincerity to the proceedings, but there’s only so much one can do when the writing is limp. On the whole, ‘Detective Sherdil‘ is a damp squib mystery encompassed by a messy blend of outdated tropes and muddled storytelling.