The unusual thing about Dial M for Murder — Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 film that was later adapted for the stage — is that it’s a suspense thriller where the audience members watch the crime unfold before their eyes, making them indirect accomplices in a way. What otherwise happens in murder mysteries (keep most of Agatha Christie’s novels in mind here) is that a body is found and then a detective like Hercule Poirot goes about investigating the case, keeping readers hanging till the identity of the perpetrator is revealed right at the very end. But in Dial M for Murder, the plot progression is such that the audience is made privy to the antagonist’s criminal mind from the outset, before discovering his devious machinations aimed at murdering his adulterous wife. And that’s the case with A Perfect Murder as well, which is a Marathi adaptation of Hitchcock’s movie that will be staged in the city this weekend.

It’s set in a posh SoBo neighbourhood sometime in the ’70s, and explores the relationship between three people — Niranjan Majumdar, his wife Neera, and her lover Divyajit. The plot revolves around how Niranjan — after finding out about Neera’s affair with Divyajit — hatches a plan to have her killed, partly for revenge but mainly to usurp all her money after her death. He blackmails a small-time conman named Karmakar and enlists him to do the dirty work so as to keep his own hands clean. Niranjan builds an intricate web of deceit. He plans everything to the T, ensuring all the necessary alibis. But in the end, the plan is foiled and in the original film, it’s the wife who ends up killing the conman in self defence, for which she is sentenced to death. And it’s then up to the lover and the police officer investigating the case to uncover the truth and ensure that a woman isn’t sent to the gallows despite her innocence.