The police dog squad should not miss Siskiyaan. And if possible, they could use the fundas shown in this outrageous Neha Dhupia starrer for riot investigations. For Ayesha Sheikh, her character in the film, could identify her rapist from the way he talks, smokes and above all, his body odour (yuck!).
Why are women raped? Why do rioters go scot-free? Why do enquiry commissions fail? Really loaded issues, indeed. But this Ashwini Chaudhary movie (he earlier directed the critically acclaimed film, Dhoop) fails to do justice to the sensitive issues it sought to address.
Ayesha is a riot victim, who was raped not by rioters but by a doctor in a relief camp. That too, for three days. Not to forget, 14 times! But she never actually saw her tormentor, as her eyes had been blindfolded. In her words, 'I was like a vegetable.' And she repeats this several times.
Neha Dhupia vs Sigourney Weaver
Moving on. Fate plays its role and Dr Vishwas (Sonu Sood) lands at Ayesha's place to drop off her husband Javed Sheikh (Sachin Bose Khedekar). And then, Sood's misery begins. As does the viewers'!
Bland dialogues like 'Jo bhi hota hai, sab achche ke liye hota hai' (again oft repeated by Ms Ayesha) coupled with below average performances are some of the highlights of this movie. The songless film starts with a dull background score, and ends with it as well.
The opening shot of the movie may bring a smile on the lips of the Ramsay brothers. Visualise this: A summer cottage in the middle of the jungle, the nearest village is a distance away and the network doesn't go where your mobile phone does.
Trademark Bollywood ishtyle suspense, which fizzles out when one sees Dhupia (with layers of make-up) trying to smoke a Marlboro. No wonder the health minister was so concerned about on-screen smoking.
The landline, which had been out of order, starts working past midnight (did not know lines were repaired at midnight as well!).
The real star of the movie is the pet dog of the Sheikhs. The dog vanishes in some shots, is back for a while and then disappears again. But the poor creature had a poor field day, as it could not smell out the rapist while Ayesha could.
With a slew of flops under her belt, if Dhupia was hoping for luck reversal, she's been daydreaming. Sonu Sood tries hard to prove a point but does not impress. He may not have recovered yet from the shocking Aashiq Banaya Aapne.
Khedekar, who plays a magazine editor, appointed as the chairman of the commission enquiring into the riots, may just be able to drag this lacklustre movie till next weekend.
Those of you who want to ruin their weekend may go ahead and watch this Guddu Dhanoa production.
