Haseen Dillruba ‘twist’ reminds viewers of Roald Dahl short story Lamb to the Slaughter; reactions are mixed

Audiences are noticing similarities between the plot of Haseen Dillruba, a new Netflix film starring Taapsee Pannu, and writer Roald Dahl’s 1953 short story, Lamb to the Slaughter. Haseen Dillruba, directed by Vinil Mathew and written by Kanika Dhillon, is a small town murder mystery with romantic elements.

Taapsee Pannu plays a woman named Rani, who is embroiled in a murder investigation involving her husband, Rishu (Vikrant Massey) and lover Neel (Harshvardhan Rane).

Several people on Twitter noticed the film’s conclusion has echoes of Lamb to the Slaughter, and also an episode of the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine. “GENERAL TRIVIA- If you are thinking of watching Haseen Dilruba on @NetflixIndia, DON’T! Read LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER by Roald Dahl instead. The plot is the same and trust me you don’t want to waste your time watching a self-absorbed lunatic trying to take vengeance from his wife,” one person commented. “Haseen Dilruba on @NetflixIndia takes me back to the incredibly wonderfully written Lamb to the Slaughter by #RoaldDahl,” wrote another.

Here are some more comments:

The idea for Lamb to the Slaughter came to Roald Dahl at a dinner party he attended with James Bond writer Ian Fleming.

In his introduction to an episode of the series Tales Of The Unexpected, based on Lamb to the Slaughter, Dahl said, “My friend, the late Ian Fleming, the James Bond man, is really responsible for the story you’re going to see now. We were staying the weekend in a house in Vermont, and at dinner, the roast leg of lamb as so dry and tough that Ian looked across to me and whispered, ‘This ruddy thing must have been in the deep freeze for 10 years; she ought to be shot’. ‘No,’ I said. ‘Not shot, I think there must be a more interesting punishment’.”

Also read: Taapsee Pannu lashes out as critics highlight Haseen Dillruba’s glorification of ‘toxic masculine love’

The short story was published in Harper’s Magazine in 1953, and was also adapted in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents.