You know what's worse than a copy? A bad copy.
Instead of simply reproducing the existent material in all its glory, the makers introduce lousy elements and single-handedly demolish the very core that made the original so mind-blowing in the first place.
Ananth Narayan Mahadevan's
Anamika suffers from this disability, big time.
It borrows heavy inspiration from Daphne du Maurier's novel,
Rebecca, which was brilliantly adapted into a Oscar-winning mystery by Alfred Hitchcock and hauntingly interpreted under Biren Nag's direction in the Waheeda Rehman-Biswajeet B/W classic,
Kohra.
If
Rebecca, the film was high on nail-biting intrigue and human complexities,
Kohra boasted of innovative technique (abundant use of fog, dramatic camera angles) and an excellent score (
Yeh nayan dare dare, O bekarar dil, Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat) by Hemant Kumar.
The poorly-scripted
Anamika hasn't got any of these above mentioned qualities to keep it going. It substitutes the seductive temperament of mystery with pointless ambiguity amplified by sound effect-friendly red herrings.
A pity, considering the essence of
Rebecca lies in the impulse, intent and intensity of its complicated protagonists. It employs the human psyche as a weapon to create an air of mystifying energy.
Anamika, on the other hand, is about an orphan girl Jia (Minissha Lamba) struggling to make ends meet as a part-time escort and tuition teacher. Gauging by the number of apologies she renders throughout the film, Jia is clearly a case of low self-esteem. And so when fortune seemingly favours her in the form of a widower businessman, Vikram Shisodiya (Dino Morea) and his three-karat 'Will you marry me?', Jia grabs the opportunity to be Biwi no 2 like strawberry gelato in Death Valley heat.
The whole courtship, namely a quickie dream sequence in Thailand, is rushed, unconvincing and devoid of any chemistry. The newly married couple arrive at their palatial home in Gajner, situated in the arid landscape of Rajasthan. It's a picturesque setting, alright. Pushan Kriplani's aseptic camera-work, however, fails to explore the potential of the subject or its surrounding.
Overwhelmed and intimidated by the grandeur and the larger-than-life existence of the mansion's previous mistress, Anamika -- Jia makes futile attempts to fit in. Unfortunately, hubby neither approves of her designer wardrobe nor whets her curiosity about the deceased