Indian filmmaker Priyadarshan describes his new movie ``Bhagam Bhag'' or ``Racing Around'' as a murder mystery laced with humour, a media report said on Wednesday.

Priyadarshan, who uses only one name, is a well-known director of regional language Malayalam movies and has also made several popular Hindi-language films.

Audiences go to the movies to be entertained and don't want to watch anything serious, he told Screen, a movie news weekly.

``In these times of murder, riots, loans and stress, who wants to watch anything serious?'' said Priyadarshan. ``Everybody needs to let off steam and 'Bhagam Bhag' is that safety valve.''

The movie is about an Indian theater group booked to perform in London who meets a woman whose husband is murdered. Priyadarshan says the woman, played by beauty queen and former model Lara Dutta, is a liar who lands everyone in trouble.

The movie also stars well-known actors Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Govinda and releases on Friday.