Movies like Dor, Iqbal and Hyderabad Blues are truly inspired and without a doubt crafted by a master moviemaker of our times, Nagesh Kukunoor. His movies are a revelation and generally gripping. Tasveer too has a riveting premise with the protagonist blessed with supernatural powers such as looking into the past with a photograph and capable of athletic fetes like jumping off a cliff and staying underwater for 4 minutes. But something feels amiss when the climax is revealed, it is a let down.

Jai (Akshay Kumar), the lead works as a forest ranger in Canada. Just as he finishes locating the whereabouts of a missing husband, he finds out his father Jatin Puri (Benjamin Gillani) was in a boat accident. He assumes it was an accident in the beginning and is ready to move on with his life even as he finds out that all his dad’s money went to his mother Savitri Puri (Sharmila Tagore). He asks his girlfriend Sheela Patel (Ayesha Takia) to marry him and she agrees. Then Happi with an “I” arrives and forces Jai to rethink the mishap. Jai looks at a picture taken on the boat with all people on board that day, but he can only stay for a minute in the past, so has to revisit the day over and over again until the killer is exposed.

The fundamental principle that makes an Alfred Hitchcock stories so very enthralling is that when the mystery is solved, all the events that led up to the fact make complete sense. It works with the given set of characters and the author makes you suspect every single person in the group and then one of them is uncovered as the criminal. Nagesh Kukunoor has apparently requested all reviewers not to unravel the suspense. It is hard to say why the climax falls flat without revealing who did it. But the talented director did give us Dor and Iqbal, so, in honor of his request, let’s just say that he succeeds in making the audience suspect everyone, but the killer and the suspense that was built up so wisely does not do conclude well, it is surely unexpected, but not essentially justified.

Whether or not you enjoy the climax, Nagesh captures Canada and South Africa at their glorious best. The grandeur of being made on a huge budget of approximately 60 crores shows in almost every breathtaking shot of Alberta. The picturesque locales are a visual treat. The background score by Salim-Sulaiman is refreshingly restrained and never goes overboard. Akshay in action is also something we have not witnessed in a while and adds its own charm. Akshay emotes well in a refrained sort of way, which he deserves complete credit for. This is usually not his forte, be it comedy or action, Akshay is generally flamboyant when the camera rolls, but this role shows him in a different light and he does a commendable job. Ayesha Takia is delightful in her natural ways. Sharmila Tagore is as refined as ever. Anant Mahadevan, Girish Karnad and Rushad Rana as the others on the boat perform their parts with ease. Javed Jaffrey as happi does well. 

Technically, Tasveer is superbly executed. The actors fit into their roles and do complete justice to their roles. There is a sincere attempt to create suspense and the shiny blade does get you nervous. But the aberration in this Tasveer is the suspense which fails to bring all the characters and events to a logical conclusive focal point. However if you can overlook or accept the ending, there is plenty of room to enjoy the movie; it is a Nagesh Kukunoor offering, with a mega budget backing after all.