SRK's Baazigar, Irrfan Khan's Maqbool & More: Cinema References You May Have Missed In Monica, O My Darling
Rajkummar Rao, Radhika Apte, and Huma Qureshi's crime thriller 'Monica, O My Darling' is filled with references to popular culture and cinema references.
The crime drama 'Monica, O My Darling', starring Rajkummar Rao, Radhika Apte, and Huma Qureshi, has premiered on Netflix and appears to be a smash-hit with audiences. The complex dark comedy directed by Vasan Bala revolves around an aspirational middle-class man who gets wrapped up in a labyrinth of deceit and blackmail.
In addition to its captivating narrative, the pulp crime flick also has a plethora of hilarious references from certain films. The movie's title is obviously a nod to the Piya Tu Ab Toh Aaja song, but it also features many other references to Bollywood thrillers, particularly those directed by Sriram Raghavan, such 'Badlapur', 'Johnny Gaddar', and 'Ek Hasina Thi'.
There are several hat tips to Sriram Raghavan, who is also thanked in the opening credits of the film.
— Incurato (@TheIncurato) November 12, 2022
Radhika Apte is shown exiting a 'Bank of Badlapur' office. This is a reference to Raghavan's 2015 film Badlapur, which starred both Apte and Huma Qureshi in pivotal roles. pic.twitter.com/Otnk5tdwJa
IMDb India, in a Twitter thread, listed a few cinematic references that were hidden as easter eggs in the film.
Rajkummar in MOMD 🤝 SRK in Baazigar
— IMDb India (@IMDb_in) November 17, 2022
evidence chewed pic.twitter.com/2hbx9lynZN
Radhika Madan and Abhimanyu Dasani, the lead duo from 'Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota', are also featured in the Vasan Bala directorial along with other pop-culture references.
Two tickets for the Vasan Bala cinematic universe please 🤌 pic.twitter.com/dYHrcdRYjX
— IMDb India (@IMDb_in) November 17, 2022
A list of several directors, including Anurag Kashyap, Abbas Mastan, Quentin Tarantino, and Vishal Bharadwaj, with their house numbers, was seen in the scene where Zayn Marie Khan's character Shalu was talking on the phone outside her home.
How many famous directors can you spot here 🧐 pic.twitter.com/DtwphQikh8
— IMDb India (@IMDb_in) November 17, 2022
The dialogue delivered by Huma Qureshi in one scene brought to mind Tabu's lines from 'Maqbool'.
Still not over @Vasan_Bala ‘s ode to this iconic moment in @VishalBhardwaj ‘s Maqbool 💛 pic.twitter.com/4WxeDNTW4E
— IMDb India (@IMDb_in) November 17, 2022
One can also spot Hotel Prince Amar, which is named after the role played by Dev Anand in the movie 'Jewel Thief'.
When in Khandala - pic.twitter.com/Wmq1sFu7ez
— IMDb India (@IMDb_in) November 17, 2022
In addition to this thread, a Twitter user by the name of Incurato went on to compile a lengthy thread of all the hat-tips, and references that were hidden throughout the movie. There are spoilers ahead if you haven't seen the movie yet.
Huma Qureshi's character at one point says she ordered food from 'Saleem's'.
— Incurato (@TheIncurato) November 12, 2022
Her family owns a chain of restaurants in Delhi, by the name of Saleem's. pic.twitter.com/d0ZDwPInQd
In one scene, we hear dialogues exchanged in the background on the TV and though the film may not be clearly visible, we hear Dharmendra's trademark voice on screen, from Raghavan's 2007 film Johnny Gaddar. pic.twitter.com/hXeczesiKe
— Incurato (@TheIncurato) November 12, 2022
HOWEVER, all except one name here are film directors,
— Incurato (@TheIncurato) November 12, 2022
Sarika Vartak is the name of Urmila Matondkar's character from Sriram Raghavan's debut film, the 2004 neo-noir thriller Ek Hasina Thi. pic.twitter.com/WgtUGPqiP0
Although we are not sure if this was intentional, the wifi password in Jayant's office is written as FirEbaLLxl5$.
— Incurato (@TheIncurato) November 12, 2022
Fireball XL5 was a 1960s British children's sci-fi television series about the missions of Fireball XL5, a Space Patrol vessel that polices the cosmos in 2062. pic.twitter.com/5rhvOFjJFo
Meanwhile, Keigo Higashino's Burutasu no Shinzou, a Japanese mystery novel about the human employees of a robotics company, acted as the inspiration for Yogesh Chandekar's 'Monica, O My Darling'.
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