Finally...a film India can call its own. Review on Jism

After years of hackneyed storylines and watered-down Hollywood remakes, Bollywood must have finally sat up and taken notice with ''Jism''. The movie pushes the envelope with its bold content and subject matter, but in a way that retains key Indian sensibilities and with some of most haunting cinematography and music ever witnessed in Bollywood. While Jism may not feature a completely original storyline or memorable dialogue, it certainly hits home with its vast entertainment value.

The story, partially based on Hollywood's ''Fatal Attraction'' (Michael Douglas, Glenn Close), involves Kabir Lal (John Abraham), a lawyer who falls for a very beautiful yet very married woman (Bipasha Basu). Kabir and Bipasha eventually engage in a torrid affair and finally plot to kill her husband. Yet as the story unfolds, Kabir starts to get a different impression of his femme fatale and tries to amend his ways before it's too late.

I know what you're all thinking, another boring Bollywood potboiler ala ''Ajnabee''. Yet the real star of the show is not Bipasha's enticing figure or John Abraham's wonderfully controlled performance. No, the real attraction in Jism is its exquisite sense of style. Starting from the opening credits, the movie exudes a certain exhilarating sensuality. The scenes of Pondicherry in the moonlight are breathtaking, as are the wonderful outdoor locales. Witness the cinematography of ''Jaadu Hai Nasha Hai'' and be amazed. And yet the best part is that it's not Switzerland or England or America, it's all India. This contributes greatly to the movie's charm.

Now to the performances. John Abraham is spectacular in his role as Kabir, injecting just the right combination of confidence and confusion into his character. He plays a suave character throughout the movie, but his breakdown scene near the climax exhibits his tremendous range. This is certainly a refreshing change from the monotonous Fardeen Khans and Tusshar Kapoors of the day.

Bipasha's performance is slightly harder to measure, since her Jism seems to have a bigger role than she does. Yet she plays the part of the female ingenue to absolute perfection (far better than her performance in Ajnabee).

One welcome change from the cliched world of Bollywood is the lack of a comedic relief. Finally, a movie whose message it not diluted by a stupid comedy routine by Jonny Lever or Satish Shah every five minutes. Bollywood produces need to understand that audiences CAN stay awake and enjoy a movie without unbearably stale jokes thrown in opportune moments.

Now we go to the music, another star attraction. To be honest, I was not very familiar with the music of MM Kreem before the movie, although I loved ''Kabhi Sham Dale'' from Sur. In Jism, his music is superlative, suiting the aura of the film like a perfectly fitted glove. Never once do we feel that the director was compelled to insert songs into the movie (ala Khushi or Talaash). Nay, the tracks (especially ''Jaadu Hai Nasha'' and ''Awaarapan, Baanjarapan'') heighten the sense of mystery in the movie and really enhance Jism's stature as a thriller.

All in all, I think its quite evident that I loved this movie. It is such a drastic and welcome departure from the norms of traditional Bollywood films that one cannot help but be enamored. Its wonderful production values and memorable performances help make it the best thriller of 2003.