A daft disappointment. Review on Ankahee - Bollywood

On face-value, Ankahee has all it takes to appeal to the cinegoers – an attractive and talented star cast, accomplished director, proficient music composers and an expert technical team. Worthy names do contribute in making a worthy product, but in this case, they don't.

Aftab Shivdasani is a successful doctor married to Ameesha Patel. They have a young daughter. Miss World Esha Deol who slits her wrist and is brought in his clinic. Rather reluctantly, he is drawn into her life. When the affair becomes public knowledge, his wife is broken. He leaves home to be with Esha but it is soon clear that that is not a good idea either.

Her suspicion and paranoia are heightened and one day, in a fit of fury, she kills herself.

Aftab is thus left all alone having lost his wife and daughter to divorce.

The basic fault lies with the script of the film that bears resemblance to the recently released Mere Jeevan Saathi. However, a few sequences are also borrowed from several other films. In a nutshell, the film lacks in originality, which is its biggest drawback.

The ever-dependable Vikram Bhatt is not in form this time. As a director, he has handled a few individual sequences with aplomb, but as the writer of the film, he comes up with a mishmash product that is predictable, slow-paced and monotonous… and which gets tedious after a point of time.

The film moves at a snail's pace and the essence of the story gets diluted in the bargain. Another factor that goes against the film is its music . The songs disappoint. Majorly. Music Composer seem to have run out of ideas and melodies, for the songs are anything but inspiring.The climax also seems like a total compromise from the script point of view. The ending is bland with no impact whatsoever.

As a director, Vikram fails to excite the viewer after a point. The romantic sequences leave a lot to be desired, while the emotional ones fall flat. In fact, he has tried to package the old formula in a new bottle but, unfortunately, the effect is far from mesmerising.

Aftab is better , although he needs to loosen up even more. He ought to change his wardrobe/designer and make-up and needs to concentrate on his dialogue delivery. Yet, there are a few sequences where he proves his mettle as a performer.

Esha Deol looks gorgeous, and excels in a role that demanded histrionics. The role seems tailor-made for her, that impactful is she. Amisha deserved a better role, although she leaves an impact in the confrontation scene with Esha. The remaining artistes don't even get a line to deliver!

Cinematography is amazing. The film is a visual treat. Dialogues are a highlight. The background score is appropriate.

On the whole, Ankahee lacks a cohesive script and hit music to compliment this love story.Also it has been released without much hype and with Fanaa arriving next week,it will face an uphill task. Disapponting!