Some days ago, I was reading a crime thriller novel where a wannabe detective said, “70 percent of the time, the killer is someone close to the victim.” So, I am not sure if Hansal Mehta or his team of writers read the same novel or if it’s just that all crime thriller novels follow the same formula, obviously for dramatic purposes. You know it hits the hardest when the person who betrayed you was the one closest to you. And, in order to get to the killer, the protagonist, Detective Sergeant Jaspreet Bhamra, took the scenic route, because obviously you wouldn’t want the case to get solved in merely ten minutes, right? But I won’t take that much of your time, let’s get straight to the ending of The Buckingham Murders.
Spoiler Alert
Preeti Kohli Killed Her Adopted Son
When DS Bhamra and DI Hardik Patel first arrived at the Kholis’ house to meet Ishpreet’s parents, Daljeet and Preeti, the mother told the police that Daljeet’s friend, Tejinder Singh, AKA Syringe, had slapped Ishpreet a few days earlier. It was quite clear from the very beginning that Preeti was trying to frame someone or the other for her son’s disappearance/murder, when the truth was, she herself had him killed. But what was the motive? Well, I’ll get to that, but did you notice something unusual with the names that I have mentioned in the paragraph? It seems Hansal Mehta has named these characters after popular Indian cricketers; for example, Jaspreet Bhamra sounds similar to Jasprit Bumrah, while DI Hardik Patel’s character is most likely named after Hardik Pandya. And yes, there’s a “Kohli” too here.
Hansal Mehta’s The Buckingham Murders explores a number of common themes, one of which is domestic violence. It was suggested that Preeti, who married Daljeet, an NRI, wanted to build an identity of her own, and maybe would have thought that the progressive society of Great Britain would give her the chance to do so. But as soon as she arrived at High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Daljeet turned her into a housewife. Preeti didn’t want to spend the rest of her life looking after Daljeet’s ailing mother and later his adopted son, which was the reason why she took such a violent step. Now, it could also be speculated that Daljeet’s mother, who died in the pandemic, might have ridiculed or humiliated Preeti for not being able to bear a child, because of which Daljeet had to adopt Ishpreet from Sangrur, Punjab, India. And if that’s true, then you can understand that Preeti had every reason in the world to hate Ishpreet from the moment he stepped into the house because the child often reminded Preeti of the humiliation she had faced all these years.
But you see, Preeti didn’t want to get her own hands dirty, which was why she started sexually grooming Tejinder’s younger brother, Prithvi. Tejinder had been arrested for selling drugs, and in his absence, Prithvi spent most of his time in Daljeet’s house. When Daljeet was away, Preeti used to get physically intimate with Prithvi, therefore winning his confidence and preparing him to fulfill her own ulterior motives.
A Web of Affairs
When Prithvi grew up, Preeti asked him to kill Ishpreet. A groomed Prithvi was madly in love with Preeti and was ready to do anything for her. He didn’t think about the consequences of his actions and drowned Ishpreet in the lake in Totteridge Rye Park. He left his body in the water, which was later found by Saqib Chowdhary and Naved. They took Ishpreet’s body out of the water, but he was already dead. In a fit of panic, they left the body in the park and ran away from there, leaving their car behind.
Later that night, when DI Patel saw Akram Khan’s car in the park, he quickly sent the officers home in order to devise a plan of his own. Earlier that morning, DI Patel had seen Saqib leaving Akram’s Kebab Shop in the same car and therefore decided to frame him for Ishpreet’s murder out of personal vendetta. Some years ago, Saqib, working for Syringe, had sold drugs to DI Patel’s sister, Shalini Singh. She OD-ed and went into a coma, and DI Patel blamed Syringe and Saqib for his sister’s condition. Syringe was put behind bars, but Saqib was a minor, which was why he was released with a slap on the wrist, and since that day, DI Patel had been looking for an opportunity to make Saqib pay for his crimes. In the end, DS Bhamra found out about DI Patel’s intricate plot to frame Saqib and caught him red-handed soon after, after which DI Patel shot himself, while Saqib and Naved were released.
Preeti and Daljeet Get Arrested
It was a dysfunctional family from the very beginning, and the only victims in the family were the younger generations, Ishpreet and Privthi, who sadly had to grow up around such crooked people as Daljeet and Preeti. Daljeet was a misogynist, cheater, and abuser, while Preeti was a sexual offender and murderer. In the end, both the husband and the wife got what they deserved. Daljeet was arrested for Privthi’s murder, and he would most likely serve a long sentence for his crimes. Preeti, on the other hand, was arrested for grooming Privthi and planning Ishpreet’s murder. However, in Preeti’s case, her case wasn’t strong enough to give her a harsh punishment and, unfortunately, I think she would be released earlier than Daljeet. She wasn’t directly involved in the murder, and even though she was purely evil, the law doesn’t work like that. And as far as Ishpreet’s life insurance money is concerned, I guess Daljeet would finally get it after the case is closed.
Jaspreet Moves On With Her Life
The Buckingham Murders began with a tragic event where Jaspreet’s only son, Ekam, was shot by a white British man named James Thomas. Throughout the film, Jaspreet was haunted by the memories of her lost son, and in the end, when she finally received Ekam’s life insurance money, she decided to burn the letter, suggesting she wouldn’t accept the money that came from the death of her own son. It really doesn’t symbolize anything, instead creating a contrast between Jaspreet and Daljeet where the latter wouldn’t mind using Ishpreet’s life insurance to live a peaceful and comfortable life. And as far as Hardik Patel’s sister is concerned, it was implied that Jaspreet’s father, Kamalpreet, took Shalini under his care as she didn’t have any other relatives to fall back on. So yes, Jaspreet and Kamalpreet will look after Shalini in her brother’s absence, and maybe Shalini would be able to fill the void in their lives left by Ekam. Also, as often happens with detective thrillers, the most famous one coming to mind right now being Luther, we can expect a sequel to the film, where we will see DS Bhamra once again in action, trying to solve complex cases in Buckinghamshire.
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