Ek hasina...... Review on Ek Hasina Thi

Thanks to people like Ramgopal Verma that at last, our film industry seems to have grown up and grown out of all the Mills and Boon stories. Ek Hasina Thi is a movie that is totally different from the dumb movies like Kal Ho Na Ho, K3G, etc. Bollywood is certainly accepting changes and it has realised that the public is no longer interested in the song-dance sequences, melodramas, ever-great heroes and the ever-dumb heroines.

The past few years have marked a dramatic change with bold and offbeat movies like Jism, Agnivarsha, Satta, Pinjar, Bhoot, Maqbool, etc winning the average Indian?s heart. Ek Hasina Thi is one such movie, which is a serious thriller, has a meaningful script, has no songs, and has a hero who is not a typical desi-hero and a heroine who is not dumb, after all.

The movie takes off with Urmila, a single woman working in a travel agency, falling in love with Saif. Mind you, no songs and Swiss Alps in the process. The movie showcases the life of a single woman in the centre of a busy city wonderfully well, though not in depth. Urmila falls prey to a conspiracy and lands in jail. The sequences in the jail are beautifully drawn but could have been better. It reminds me of a novel by Sheldon, If Tomorrow Comes.

The movie progresses in the same path as the novel once Urmila gets arrested. Indian jails are picturised well and Urmila does splendidly well as a helpless convict. She finally manages to escape from jail to seek her revenge from Saif, who was responsible for her plight. The first half of the story dwells entirely on Urmila?s life with the audience having no idea of who and what Saif is. The second half takes the viewers to the untold story of a charming and lovable character of Saif. The great hero is a villain, in the true sense. And what Urmila does to even the score with Saif forms the rest of the story.

The story, screenplay, direction and cinematography are at their best. The cast and the acting by the lead artistes are better than the best. Urmila is as wonderful as she was in Tehzeeb and Pinjar. The sudden transition of her life from a normal one to that of a convict, is perfectly and painfully evident in her eyes. Urmila handles her scenes in the jail deftly and the scenes where she avenges, with poise and perfection.

Despite a class act by Urmila, it is Saif who steals the show. After all the comic roles in Dil Chahta Hai and dumb ones in Kal Ho Na Ho, Saif has found a near-perfect role. He is all charming when he is wooing Urmila in the first half and is equally ruthless in the second. Finally, here?s a movie that belongs to Saif. The climax is so good that I was awestruck. I was wondering what might Urmila do to take her revenge and there it was, the ending! And what an ending! It really was a true climax.

After Maqbool, Ek Hasina Thi is another movie which will stay on my mind for a long time to come. A must watch for all you readers.