Sanjay Gupta loves being termed as Quentin Tarantino of Bollywood but this title is as shallow as the term Bollywood itself when compared to the original. The man started his career with duds like “Hamesha” and “Ram Shastra’.
Though he might have garnered appreciation in the form of “Kaante” which was nothing, but a rip-off of Tarantino’s 1992 classic “Reservoir Dogs”. He even tried his hand at the Korean Masterpiece “Old Boy” in form of "Zinda" but burnt them terribly, lesser said about his “U-Turn” inspired “Musafir”, the better. The bottom-line is that content with style (as in case of Tarantino) can never be replaced by style alone (as in case of Gupta).
After directing duds like " Dil pa mat le yaar" and "Yeh kya ho raha hai", Hansal Mehta has once again wielded the microphone promising a compelling whodunit as the promos suggest but then making a promo and making a movie are two starkly different jobs
The story starts with a bang. An upper middle class couple engaging in a catfight at a suburban nightclub, the wife(Zarrah played by Neha Oberoi ) accusing the husband (Jatin played byArbaaz Khan)of debauchery and the husband urging his wife not to complicate the matter and come home with him , which she predictably denies. The next morning, Jatin is woken up by the sound of his mobile. A stranger telling him either to deliver 50 lakhs to him or let his wife go(forever!). Even though he was warned, Jatin calls the police who set up a plan to nab the kidnapper. He then proceeds to follow the instructions of the unknown shadowed kidnapper, but the other guy is too smart for him, he notices the cops and tells Jatin to forget about the deal as well as his wife, ending the consersation with a completely unique and unheard dailogue(lol!), "your wife is dead, dead". At this point the title credits roll and you realized that this is just the beginning. Hansal Mehta sets the tone very well for an engaging racy thriller. After the title credits end, we are introduced to the shadowed kidnapper in form of Sikander Kher, a dance number follows showcasing the not so impressive dancing capabilities of the actor, who then narrates the story of his last few days, where he encounters a high society boring housewife, who offers him a deal, to kidnap her and ask 50 lakhs as ransom from her husband. In this way she will come to know whether he loves her or not. She takes him to a dilapidated bunglow in the middle of nowhere named as Woodstock Villa, where she with his help ties herself. They then decide not to pick up the phone, whatever happens.
After discussing the pros and cons of the deal, he calls Jatin, and the story following this scene is the one which we already encountered before the title credits. Back to the present, our hero enters the house declaring that she would be glad to know that her husband really doesn't love her, he enters the bedroom, but gets the shock of his lifetime to find the deadbody of the Zarrah on the bed. As he stood there, frozen, the phone suddenly rings, out of anxiety he forgets his own rule and picks up the phone...............................
Who was there on the other end?
How did Zarrahget killed?
Is Sikander reallly an innocent victim or is there more than what meets the eye?
I know this sounds like one of those promotional and paid previews, but you can easily decipher that nobody is gonna pay me a single penny for writing this. I just couldn't find the way to exit from this labyrinth
The first half of the movie moves at a breakneck speed churning one twist after another. However after the intermission the movie losses the steam, what could have been a exhilarating ride is reduced to just another thriller. The post intermission portion moves at a lethargic pace and much of the twists here are predictable. Songs in the movie could be best described by one word, "Deterrent". In a movie which lasts less than 100 minutes, the idea of keeping five songs is anything. but sensible. The biggest ennui of "em all is the item number by Sanjay Dutt, which they must have been touted as crowd-puller but it comes at a moment, where the last thing the viewers would like to see is a song. It seems that Sanjay Gupta was so emotionally attached with all the songs that he wanted to keep them in the movie, whatever comes by, I hope he didn't choreographed them(quite possible (lol!!)).
Talking about the performances, Arbaaz Khan had nothing great to do and he did what was required of him. Gulshan Grover(Oh Sorry! I forgot to mention him!) reprises his role in "Gangster" once again, I can't understand why he chooses these kind of roles. Neha Oberoi impresses with her sultry appearance and voluptuous body. She was supposed to be sexy and erotic, but she made sure she used her ample assets effectively. The sensuousness in her eyes is appealing like anything!! I hope I don't sound lascivious but then the lady could be a serious threat to Bipasha Basu, provided the right kind of roles fall in her lap. Sanjay Duttwas completely undesirable in the movie, his song should better have been reserved as a promotional video for the movie, it was a major fallacy on the maker's part to include the song in the movie.
When an actor is being launched, there is a certain amount of curiosity
is bound to be associated, but unveiling the promo of his second film,
even vefore the first one hits the theatre is an unusual and unwise
move.The promo of "Summer 2007" is already on air projecting
the hero as a lover boy in a mushy romantic story set in the backdrop
of college life and here he is, playing a semi-psychotic character who
is on the verge of loosing his sanity.
Sikander Kher has got most , if not all ingredients of an actor,
he is tall, brooding, has a senewy look and the guy didn't do a bad
job. Besides we shouldn’t forget that the role essayed by him was too
demanding for a newcomer, the lad should be praised to choose such a
complicated and grey character which demands histrionics of a seasoned
performer. An an actor he scores well, but the bleak prospects of the
movie may harm his future. After all history tells us, even though
Tushar Kapoor delivered an oscar worthy performance(*though he had to
satisfy with Filmfare only, poor chap!!*) in debut movie, he instantly found himself
surrounded by offers, only because his movie was a success. Sikander
might have to wait a a little longer for an elusive hit.
One of best part of the enterprise is the cinematography which successfully captures the dark mood of the movie. Shadowed images, derelict jungles and caliginous graveyards ensure that the viewers will be glued to their seats, at least for the imagery if not not for the proceedings.
Judging by the number of people present with me in the theatre, the film doesn't seems to have a rosy prospect. Families, which are an essential prerequisite for any movie to succeed are normally skeptical of thrilles, but unwanted songs and a tacky script in the later half has ensured that even the section of moviegoers who patronise these kind of cinema would also be disappointed.
