Towards the middle of Reema Kagti's highly anticipated Talaash, an emotionally and physically exhausted Surjan Singh Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) lies down on a bed in a seedy hotel. Next to him is a gorgeous hooker -- Rosie (Kareena Kapoor).
They had met early in the film. They are attracted to each other, but Shekhawat is a married man, although his marriage is going through a turbulent period.
As Shekhawat closes his eyes, Rosie gently strokes his forehead and his hair, until he falls asleep. It is a tender moment -- rare for a Bollywood film, where love and caring is never expressed in such a mature, yet delicate manner.
Much of Kagti's Talaash, which she co-wrote with Zoya Akhtar (it is the second writing credit they share after last year's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara) is mature in the way it handles its adult characters -- conflicted, troubled souls who are searching for ways to get over their personal and professional turmoil.
On the surface Shekhawat is searching for answers to a puzzling car accident that resulted in the death of a movie star. As he gets a few clues, his investigation leads him inside the underbelly of Mumbai, the seedy world of hookers -- high class and otherwise, their pimps and the scavengers (a terrific Nawazuddin Siddiqui).
But Shekhawat has a deeper personal issue that weighs on him. He and his wife (a luminous Rani Mukherjee, giving one of her career's best performances) are mourning the accidental death of their young son. The tragedy and the fact that the two do not talk about their loss, is slowly creating a rift in their marriage.
Shekhawat also carries this personal trauma to work. His life is surely hellish, except when he gets a chance for some tender moments with Rosie, who becomes his confidante and a much needed therapist.
In Talaash, Kagti weaves a complex web, and she colours it with the mood and the atmosphere she and her collaborators create. Talaash has the feel of a noir film -- a fine achievement for a Bollywood product, where the crisp cinematography by K U Mohanan (his credits include Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely, a dark exploration of the world of Bombay's C-grade films) and the haunting background score by Ram Sampath keeps us on the edge.
And then there are the terrific songs composed by Sampath -- the sexy jazz number Muskaanein jhooti hain (sung by Suma Sridhar), Vishal Dadlani's anthem Jee le zaraa, and especially my favorite Jiya laage naa,
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