Hiren Kotwani (BOMBAY TIMES; May 11, 2014)

Who murdered sex symbol Zara Fernandes (played by Sonali Raut)? That’s the mystery that plays out in the musical suspense thriller The Xposé. Set in Bollywood of the 60s, the film shows that everyone who crossed her path — 11 suspects in all — had motive to kill her.

 Her bitter rivalry with Chandni (played by Zoya Afroz, Miss India 2013 second runner-up) is reason enough for the latter to be suspected. Eccentric superstar Ravi Kumar (Himesh Reshammiya) holds a grudge against Zara, even as he tries to solve the case. Kenny Damania aka KD (Yo Yo Honey Singh) becomes a prime suspect as his fling with her makes news. His wife Shabnam Rai (Jesse Randhawa), too, is under the radar as she’s aware of KD’s affair with Zara. Her reel director Subba Prasad (played by Xposé director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan) too has a reason to gain from her death. Another suspect is Subba’s rival Bobby Chadha (Ashwin Dhar), who plans to destroy him and Ravi. Caught between his co-star Zara and his ex-flame Chandni, Virman Shah (Nakul Vaid) also becomes a suspect for siding with the latter after the two women get into a catfight.

 Underworld don Rajan Anna (Adil Hussain) is under suspicion as he was associated wth her rival Chandni’s film Reena Mera Naam. And blackmarketeer Alec D’Costa (Irrfan in a special appearance) for his association with Zara’s film. Inspector Grover’s (Rajesh Sharma) involvement is doubted after he arrests an innocent man for Zara’s murder. Also under the radar are actor Ronnie Mukherjee (Kunal Thakur), Zara’s matron and landlady Mrs D’Silva (Kanika Dang) and industrialist Desai (Bharat Dabholkar).

 The Xposé, produced by HR Musik, releases May 16.