Fitoor movie review: Tabu overpowers, Katrina Kaif, Aditya Roy Kapur leave a lasting impact!

'Fitoor' by Abhishek Kapoor is an adaptation of Dickens' marvel, and as the movie opens on 70 mm screens, you are backpacked into the beautiful, snow-clad valley of Kashmir. Kapoor's choice of setting up the story of Noor (Aditya Roy Kapur) and Firdaus (Katrina Kaif) in Kashmir seems like a wise decision.

There is certainly a different kind of curiosity which binds the viewers in watching a story unfold on-screen which has been read before. Despite, knowing the basic plot, the director's vision surprises us in each scene. Fitoor has some power-packed dialogues by Supratik Sen. For instance - 'Jab Tumhe Pehli Baar Dekha Firdaus, Bamb Phat gaya mere dimag mein' - is simple but beautifully describes the gravity of Noor's feelings for Firdaus.

The young Noor played by Mohammed Abrar is such a delight to watch. He has enacted each critical scene with utmost perfection. His eyes speak volumes and his art depicts his heart. Coming to my most loved performance in the movie, the mersmerising and very majestic Tabu.

What do I say about this amazing bundle of talent. If you found her extremely impressive in 'Haider', then she will make you completely enchanted by her utter presence in 'Fitoor'. She exhibits each literary character (she has played a couple of them before) with so much precision that one can't possibly feel more dumbstruck than ever by appreciating her craft.

Glad you made it as 'Begum Hazrat' in 'Fitoor'. Katrina Kaif as Firduas is like a breath of fresh air, with some intense scenes to display her prowess. She has looked her best, tried her best and perhaps 'acted' her best so far. Beautiful costumes, compelling background score by Hitesh Sonik and Amit Trivedi's music—Fitoor has it all!

Aditya has portrayed his 'Fitoor' with utmost conviction and shown what it feels like to love in volatile situations. His chemistry with Katrina will not disappoint you—a fresh pair after a long time. Special mention for the brilliant execution of art work and cinematography by Anay Goswami and art direction by Mayur Sharma.

There's Ajay Devgn, Aditi Rao Hydari and 'Hina' fame actor Rahul Bhat to keep your excitement level as high as ever while watching this art piece on reel.

The dichotomy between Kashmir and London, will make you wonder—whether it is the Valley which calls you back or is it its sheer beauty echoing the lost voices.

I leave the rest to you—whether your 'expectations' are met like mine, totally depends how deep is your own 'Fitoor'!

Review: Goosebumps Brings R.L. Stine’s Monsters to Life

Genre:Comedy, Horror
Cast:Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush and Amy Ryan
Director:Rob Letterman

With hundreds of millions of copies floating around in the world, the Goosebumps series abounds with fodder for a big-screen adaptation, so it’s a wonder that all of those books haven’t spontaneously generated a movie by now (in addition to the 1990s TV show). Maybe the makers of the new feature film based on the books by R.L. Stine were thinking along the same lines, because Goosebumps the movie takes quite literally the notion of the power of fiction to come alive. (Not to mention the power of novelists to be cranky loners.)

Stine is an actual character in Rob Letterman’s bells-and-whistles movie, portrayed by Jack Black as the curmudgeonly neighbor of a new family in a small Maryland town. In the simple story, Stine’s home library houses the zany titles that have been devoured by readers 8 and over, from The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena to Night of the Living Dummy — but with one crucial difference. Each volume can release an actual snowman, or gnome horde, or evil dummy, like a genie let out of a bottle, or, taken all together, like Pandora’s box.

A teenager, Zack (Dylan Minnette), is the one unlucky enough to discover Stine’s secret after befriending the writer’s daughter, Hannah (Odeya Rush). The two have a sweet flirtation, but the bulk of this movie is a jam-packed pop-up book in the form of computer-generated imagery. Zack and his dorky sidekick Champ (Ryan Lee) inadvertently unleash Slappy the Dummy, who in turn sets loose his fellow fictive hordes, and Goosebumps becomes your standard kids cavalcade.

Letterman and the writer Darren Lemke address the tough choices of adapting the classic Scholastic grade-school series by selecting “all of the above.” The Snowman, the Werewolf, the Lawn Gnomes and other Stine stalwarts turn up to torment Zack and company, who are joined by the persnickety author. As far as fidelity to the genial frights of the books, Slappy’s relentlessness is slightly menacing, as is the slobbering Werewolf, but the action all feels more squealy than scary for children, leavened by a steady flow of gentle sarcasm.

The most genuinely creepy aspect of the story might be Stine’s temper, introduced through his fiercely protective treatment of Hannah. All those monsters had to come from somewhere, after all, and when Black recites a backstory about inventing them to shield himself from bullies, a dark place opens up for a moment before being lost in the colorful CGI avalanche. But any heart-baring emotion in the film is mostly roped off in stilted scenes in Lemke’s screenplay. (Sample line: “I’ve been running away my whole life.”)

The movie has to keep reminding itself that there are other people in the setlike town. That includes everyone in Zach’s high school, which is hosting a dance and soon faces its own assault. Zach’s mom is an assistant principal (Amy Ryan, variably interested in being in this movie), and she has a goofily uncool sister (Jillian Bell) who falls for Stine, here a single father. There are a couple of dopey cops, but mostly the crew is running from one monster or another wreaking havoc.

In a past life, the Goosebumps adaptation was attached to Tim Burton, and while that has long since ceased to be a fate you wish on a screenplay without reservations, a certain lunacy and excess are missing from much of Letterman’s realization. Not that there aren’t at least a couple of swell set pieces that go beyond frenzy: Zack and Hannah’s enchanting ride on a Ferris wheel in a forest before the onslaught has begun, and the kids’ slippery faceoff with the Snowman in the center of an ice rink, straight out of some sweat-stained nightmare.

But more often than not, Letterman uses his movie as a toy chest of characters more than as a medium, the muggy Black included. Rush has an easy warmth, though it’s hard for anyone to stand out, and a plot twist renders her character somewhat problematic as a strong heroine.

Still, Goosebumps would seem to yield the serial pleasures a voracious Stineophile might desire. The author himself pops up in a cameo, effectively giving his blessing with his presence, but truth be told, if he had proceeded to leap off the screen, I wouldn’t have the guts to confess that I was always more of a “Choose Your Own Adventure” fatalist.

Movie review ‘Mumtaz’: Fall in ‘sleep’

Director: Raghava Murali

Cast: Sharmiela Mandre, Dharma Keerthiraj

Rating: 1 star

We already have so many stars, but we now have a new star - Cadbury star! Yes the actor Dharma Keerthiraj is introduced in the title card as Cadbury Star in Mumtaz directed by the debutant Raghava Murali. Well, speaking on record there is no literal meaning to Cadbury, as it simple refers to the British multinational confectionery company. Jokes apart - Mumtaz is a different love story with so much difference that the director has spent most of his time zooming in on the face of the hero, capturing the minutest emotions which unfortunately stop only at the end!

Wondering what inspired the director to come out with this tale, remains a mystery as Mumtaz is about a guy who is madly in love with a girl since his school days. That’s it! This one is such a killer that easily beats the weirdest of all so called ‘one-way’ love stories. The story unravels with a school play on Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, no guesses on who plays who. The love sprouts, and next the scene shifts from adolescent age to teenage. The boy follows her to college, but never succeeds in expressing his love. The director’s talent in depicting the hardest ever proposal on big screen is ‘truly’ commendable. The only motto of the protagonist is to attempt making his proposals and Sharmiela Mandre’s is to look and talk pretty. The supporting characters have no role to play and the director has ‘heavily’ relied upon the close up shots of the hero and heroine all the time. A bus stop, college campus, a temple are literally the few locations that apart from the ‘dream’ songs. Even the cameo appearance by Darshan fails to give a boost to the super-slow love story. Will the hero finally express his love before it’s too late? If still willing to watch, then go before Mumtaz disappears from your nearby screens. However, this one could help those who are suffering from sleep disorders, as it proposes a sound sleep without fail.

Movie review ‘Bettanagere’: Encountering the raw story

Director: Mohan Gowda

Cast: Sumanth Shailendra, Akshay, Avinash, Shobraj, Vinod Kambli, Naina Sarwar     

Rating: 1.5 stars

The director rightly claims it a ‘raw' story! In adjective meaning - inexperienced, as it is evident throughout the movie which opens up with Shiva’s (portrayed by Sumanth Shailendra) version of how he and his cousin brother (Shekara played by Akshay) ended up on the wrong side of the society. With Madhu Gowda being a close relative of Bettanagere Seena and Shankar (notorious rowdies), based on whose real-life incidents the film is made, it seems he has made it with the sole intention of showcasing their goodness rather than doing justice to the ‘raw’ subject.

While Bettanagere Seena is Shiva, and Shankara is Shekara here in the reel Bettanagere, the plot naturally revolves around the two cousin brothers, and how they turned anti-elements. The reality starts biting with utter casting - Sumanth just does not fit the bill to someone as dreaded as a rowdy sheeter who was finally shot dead in an encounter in real life. It is very sloppy which guarantees headache, all due to the raw effect by the director and dismal acting skills makes it more intolerable including the former cricketer Vinod Kambli playing a hopeless character. An uncool tattoo on his shaved head, Vinod struggles on his acting side, which is nothing short of his struggling days as a cricketer. His character too ends like his cricketing career, abruptly!

The best part of it all is the heroine’s role which is limited to two ‘short’ scenes and a song with no sense at all. In a nutshell – two brothers with a happy life of their own, one in brick-making family business and another aspiring to get into military accidentally get into the bloody local politics and soon find themselves in a tricky situation after Shankara murders one of the supporters of a local leader played by Avinash. They seek the help of a MLA played by Shobraj. In turn politics plays on them and soon Shiva makes entry in the local underworld, while he is still on the run. Later, its Shekara’s turn and eventually the brothers are up in arms against each other. The director ends it with an announcement of a sequel to Bettanagere! Now that sounds like a word of caution after witnessing his debut raw story.

Movie review ‘Main Aur Charles’: A myth-busting biopic

Cast: Randeep Hooda, Richa Chadda, Adil Hussain, Alexx O’Neil, Vipin Sharma, Tisca Chopra, Mandana Karimi
Director: Prawaal Raman
Rating: 3.5 stars

Someone recently asked me, who is the most underrated actor in India today. And without a moment’s pause I said, Randeep Hooda. I firmly believe that, and Main Aur Charles reinforces my belief. Though it covers only 20 years of his life, from the Bikini Murders in Thailand to his escape from Tihar and subsequent arrest in 1986, Main Aur Charles is an excellent biopic. It does two opposite things at the same time: It demystifies Sobhraj the criminal, and mystifies Sobhraj the casanova. If a tally were ever taken, the number of women Sobhraj made sure fell in love with him and did his bidding, knowing exactly what he was accused of and yet believing in his absolute innocence, would greatly outnumber the murders he is accused of.    Sobhraj has till now evaded the death sentence, but not jail. Yet while in jail he has conducted more love affairs than the most charming men can claim to.   

Main Aur Charles is based on excellent research and an intelligent screenplay and that’s why it doesn’t claim to be telling the complete story of Charles Gurmukh Sobhraj from the perspective of the serial killer. Instead, it tells stories about him from the perspective of others — those who met him, helped him, worked for him, fell in love with him and the men who arrested him, saw through his charm and guile and worked to keep him in jail.   The film diligently chronicles the crimes, arrests and modus operandi of Sobhraj, always keeping the distance that Sobhraj deliberately maintained, even in the face of incriminating evidence and subsequent arrests, from the murders and other crimes he was accused of.    

We meet Charles (Randeep Hooda) in Thailand, from where he escapes, leaving a trail of dead bodies and shocked women, some wives, some lovers.   The screenplay assumes a certain amount of familiarity with the Sobhraj’s cases and conduct, focusing instead much more on his character — an exceptional manipulator, liar, charmer and user. What comes across right from the beginning is his sharp, quick mind that is always devoted to only one cause: The creation of the myth of Charles Sobhraj.

Hooda as Sobhraj, with his French accented English, doesn’t overdo it. In fact, he underplays mostly, remaining precise, contained, much more inside his head than outside. And unlike Sobhraj, his eyes too don’t catch the smile from his lips. In my several years of covering the Tihar Jail and, specifically Charles Sobhraj, I never saw a smile that reached Sobhraj’s eyes. The film is fascinated by Sobhraj’s mind and savvy, but above all his mysterious power over women. While it glamourises him and his surroundings, it doesn’t claim to have cracked the mystery of Charles Sobhraj the lover. Charles gets very little dialogue, mostly he speaks what’s in the public records — statements of others, or his interviews to the press.

But we do get details of him through the women who fell in love with him, Mira (Richa Chadda), and the men who fell prey to his plans, especially Richard (Alexx O’Neil), an accomplice and co-accused in the jail break. Mira, a law student, is a composite of many women. Then there are the two cops, Amod Kanth (Adil Hussain), who was a DCP in Delhi when news of Sobhraj’s jail break came, and Madhukar Zende. The film accords Kanth a much larger role that he actually played in the case, but it tells the truth about Zende and his claim to fame — arresting Sobhraj in Goa, whereas it was all stage-managed by Sobhraj.

The film, written and directed by Prawaal Raman, is classy and not show offy. It keeps its attention on the polite inmate accused of several murders. Hooda’s Charles, like the real one, maintains and conveys a grandeur by talking of books, of wanting to belong to a woman, a country, of books and philosophers, even when his hands are chained and he is talking from across a wire mesh. But it also catches him in the solitude of his cell, and with his accomplices — moments when he shows his commitment to meticulously controlling the story and images that get played in the media.

One scene shows him collecting all the newspaper clipping about him, watching and enjoying his creation. It’s myth-busting. The pace of the film is deliberate, not given to “thrill” us with drama. It takes a rather bold call to remain sober and deliberate. Watch it for not just an incredible performance by Hooda, but also how smart biopics can be made. Not all have to be like Ketan Mehta’s Rang Rasiya.

Movie review ‘Titli’: Violence that’s casual, cathartic

Cast: Shashank Arora, Ranvir Shorey, Amit Sial, Shivani Raghuvanshi, Lalit Behl, Sarita Sharma
Director: Kanu Behl
Rating: 3.5 stars

Titli, writer-director Kanu Behl’s very disturbing and very impressive debut film, is set in those neglected, crammed pockets that seethe between cities and villages — urban-rural colonies where the “invisibles” reside. At the centre of the film’s story — an investigation into aspirations, how they are often met, and of having to live grudgingly with the aftermath of the choices made — sits property, or what we are calling these days, “development”. Based on a brilliantly layered script and screenplay by Behl and Sharat Katariya, Titli’s plot is linear, but it’s made up of merging, giddy spirals of deceit, lies and crime, all of which are devoted to winding down many lives.  

In Titli, sound travels first, then the scene. There’s a lot of sound in the film, actually. Ambient and nauseating, but all of it very cleverly instructive. Titli (Shashank Arora), the youngest of three brothers, wants to buy parking space in a mall that’s under construction somewhere in the margins of a town in Uttar Pradesh. It’ll cost him Rs 30,000 more than the agreed price. When he hears this is when the expression on his face comes into focus. His eyes seem fixed and the jaw protrudes, conveying a conflicting mix of desperation, determination and fear. As he leaves, to return home, somewhere in Delhi, we see the mall through Titli’s eyes and feel the growing distance between them.

Siddharth Diwan’s camera work is very intelligent — it doesn’t just create a sort of uneasy intimacy with him, but is almost tactile, allowing us a sense of touch of Titli’s world. We don’t identify with him, but the camera forces us to think his thoughts. Heading home to ask his brothers for `30,000, he stops outside his house, in the narrow residential lane. Some new furniture has arrived, for Bawla General Store, Bawla (Amit Sial) being the middle brother. The eldest, Vikram (Ranvir Shorey), a security guard in a Delhi mall, is requesting his estranged wife Sangeeta (Sarita Sharma) to stay a little longer. It’s their daughter Shilpi’s birthday and he has brought her favourite cake. Pineapple. The furniture guys have unloaded the stuff and want their payment. Vikram is asking them to wait, telling them about the wrong colour of the chair, and he’s asking his wife to please stay. The men start to pester, Sangeeta is trying to leave. And then, in a split second, Vikram unravels. It’s a tightly knitted scene that sets the tone for the film — of brief, bloody bursts of violence followed by disquieting moments of banal normalcy.

Over dinner it’s decided that they’ll help Titli get the money. He tells them it’s for a garage. The plan is as usual — carjacking. But things go wrong and Titli loses the money he had already collected, a fact he had kept from his brothers. Vikram, feeling both betrayed and trapped, lets out his deep frustrations in a scene that is loaded with explanations and the scary reality of a dysfunctional patriarchal family. Titli, it is suggested, should be married off. His wife will serve many purposes. Neelu (Shivani Raghuvanshi) meets her prospective husband and her in-laws with a scowl and without dupatta. And soon arrives in their house with an FD and a dining table.

The house is a model of hyper patriarchy. Four men, plus one who looks on from a frame. With an established hierarchy, here blood ties sit above all else, and women are brought in to serve a material purpose or are to be visited occasionally (Vaishno Devi) to serve a spiritual purpose. On both occasions they are expected to remain mute but giving. The house is like a garbage pile of used up things. There are empty cardboard boxes, old, fraying mattresses folded into sofa shapes. It’s a space where everybody and everything stays on once it arrives.

These items, some used, some simply ignored like the wedding gifts, offer more than a commentary. They add undertones to actions, and layers to these characters and their lives. Titli needs money for the parking space — his only hope of escaping this life, and now so does Vikram. And Neetu wants out of the marriage. Titli makes a deal with her and Neetu agrees. It involves her true love, her FD, and a new Figo. But life, which seems congenitally hostile to all their plans, draws circles around them. Titli’s theme is a return to Behl’s friend-mentor-producer’s first love — property (Khosla Ka Ghosla). Only this time it’s not light and heartwarming. It’s violent, gritty, brutal. And it doesn’t relent.

The screenplay is brilliant. It not only packs in more commentary on patriarchy than a week-long seminar, but the sights and sounds it catches add disturbingly discordant notes. The violence in the film will get discussed a lot. But in two bone-chilling scenes that will leave you cold even when you think of them later, a lot gets revealed. In the food chain, these three brothers sit squished towards the bottom, feeling the burden of millions on top. Their anger at having to crouch is scarily visible when they attack those better off than them. For those few minutes, when they are bludgeoning those on top of them, they seem to enjoy it.  

Even Titli, the youngest and most frail of the lot, is itching for it, seems to relish it. It’s almost as if they believe that are remoulding their lives with every hard blow of the hammer. But it’s not just the gruesome violence that’s horrifying. What’s really scary is how easy and cathartic violence feels. And casual. After a few seconds of rage, they return to their normal lives, without a mention of it. What’s even more troubling is that these men, who entertain no moral qualms after a bloody encounter, are obsessed with oral cleaning. The film stays honest to its characters and its world and pays a lot of attention to its three main characters — Vikram, Titli and Neetu, at times at the expense of clarity and other characters.   The father (played by Kanu Behl’s real father) is tantalisingly vague. The film allows him to linger on the sidelines of frames, seemingly disapproving of his sons’ incompetence, but the middle brother and the man in the frame are ignored.

The personal angle that Vikram gets adds weight to the film that’s otherwise just about desperation and deceit. And Ranvir Shorey, whose jaw remains clenched and temples throb even when he’s just eating, is razor sharp and insanely good. It’s appropriate that he’s paired with Sarita Sharma, whose name is not mentioned in the film’s promos though she is outstanding. Shashank Arora, whose expression hardly changes throughout the film, is a real find, as is Shivani Raghuvanshi. Both so young, and so good. They add a fresh zing to Yash Raj Film’s otherwise stale stable.

Movie review ‘Burnt’: More spice, less drama

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Daniel Bruhl
Director: John Wells
Rating: 2 stars

Burnt by John Wells is a real-life culinary movie where the drama fails in comparison to the tantalising delicacies seen on the screen. Bradley Cooper plays Adam Jones, a chef who gets involved in drugs and alcohol and jeopardises his career. In his bid to return and reclaim the venerated three-star rating after remaining sober for more than two years, Adam is helped by the same people he betrayed earlier. Cooper’s Adam is too noisy, arrogant and ruthlessly ambitious. Sienna Miller, who plays Helene, brings to the kitchen a balancing act, not just in the flavours, but between the lead characters as well. Most interactions between the protagonists are filtered through a series of clichés though a few moments are interesting.

The kitchen is a different world altogether. The movie does deserve some admiration for its depiction of the highly competitive nature of business when it comes to fine dining, and the extent that people are willing to go in order to secure the coveted top positions. One wonders the amount of acoustic treatment the restaurants have to do with their walls. John Wells could have done better if the movie just interacted with the audience; it does not and you feel like you are simply peeping into the kitchen without anyone even noticing you. You see the wonderful preparations, their chaos and the cleanup. You may get some inspiration to get back to cooking, but that’s as much as the film can do to you.

And for those looking to get inspired to start a fine dining business are bound to be disappointed. A few French techniques, but mostly lingering on the surface of it. Throughout its runtime, the film reiterates its belief in the qualities of persistence and craft — lessons relevant to any business. The movie is released with an A certificate. Largely, as such, the rating is senseless. When the movie is over, you would really try hard to find a reason for the “A” certificate. One is reminded of the one kiss between Bradley Cooper and Daniel Bruhl, who plays an old friend and the owner of the fine dining restaurant that Bradley spearheads. He still has the hots for him, and you see him lusting after Bradley.

Perhaps a little more drama could have been good for the movie, or a different mix of people. In his quest for the three-star rating, Bradley begins gathering his best men. Here, one feels as if he is going for the kill. When Omar Sy betrays Bradley, it feels like a cliché; also, when he is standing on the bridge and throws away his diary it feels the same. However, when Matthew Rhys, playing Reece the competitor, cooks breakfast for Bradley the film seems a bit different. The photography is excellent. Adriano Goldman, the Brazillian cinematographer, moves deftly in tense situations in cramped up spaces. He manages to keep it soothing to the eyes while bringing out the unique colours and shades of the culinary delights presented on screen.

The writer is founder, Lightcube Film Society

Movie Review Chikkiku Chikkikichu: An interesting love story

CAST: Mithun, Mridhula, Aadhavan

DIRECTION: N. Rajeshkumar

RATING: Two stars

It’s a season of short filmmakers trying their hands on silver screen. Joining the list is N. Rajesh Kumar who was part of a TV series 'Naalaya Iyakkunar'. The entire story of his debut venture Chikkikku Chikkikichu takes place on a moving train that commutes between Chennai and Nagerkovil.

Chikki aka Chidambaram Krishnan (Mithun) comes to the railway station to see off his friend (Aadhavan) to Nagerkovil. When the train is about to leave, Chikki comes across a beautiful girl (Mridhula) and falls head over heels with her. He quickly changes his mind and boards the train in the blink of an eye. He also manages to find a seat next to her. Initially she does not reciprocate to his antics, but slowly Mridhula also is drawn towards Chikki. When Chikki gains strength and reveals his feelings, a twist in the tale takes place. How the couple comes out of their problem forms the rest.

Mithun fits the role of a young man who falls hook-line sinker for Mridhula. He expresses his love more through his body language than mouthing heavy dialogues. The director should be commended for steer clearing from sleazy scenes despite the film being a romantic tale that takes place in one night journey. The problem with the movie is that it just revolves around the lead two characters most part of it. Hence, after a point tedium sets in. Comic portions also fall flat. On the technical front, N.S. Rajesh’s cinematography warrants mention. His lighting and compositions inside a moving train is a major plus to the movie. Two of the songs by Vijay Benjamin are breezy.

Movie Review Aadhyan: Not your everyday romantic film

CAST: Abhimanyu, Sakshi Agarwal

DIRECTION: Ram Manohar

RATING: Two stars

Aadhyan (Abhimanyu), a youngster from Japan comes to India in search of his lover Anamika (Sakshi Agarwal). The duo knew each other only through their Facebook interactions. Exhausted by the long aircraft journey, Aadhyan gest badly jet-lagged. Outside the airport, taxi-driver Subramani volunteers to drop him to his destination. As he lands at his aunt’s vacant apartment, the driver tells him that a ghost haunts the place. (Misleading portions). He contacts Anamika and tells her that he has arrived and even as he fixes a place to meet her face-to-face, he falls flat due to jet-lag problem.  When he wakes up, it was already late and he rushes to the scheduled place of meet, when an unexpected twist takes place. He gets trapped in the dealings of few anti-social elements, which includes the tax-driver, a police officer and a local thug. Taking advantage of his jet-lag situation, they want to frame him in a fake encounter.

Abhimanyu has given a convincing performance of a jetlagged person. He is good at action sequence - the climax Thai fight. But, one wonders why the actor has to talk so slowly! Sakshi Agarwal is just about adequate. What starts off as a romantic tale, shifts its track and by the time we wonder if it is going to turn into a horror film, the director once again changes the mood and a new episode of the underworld and nexus between police and goon opens up. Debutant Ram Manohar’s story had all the potential to be taut thriller, had he concentrated on a consistent screenplay and slick narrative.