I had always believed that in order to make a good movie, one needs to have a good script. I was proved wrong (to some extent) after watching the latest movie from the very reputed Vishesh films - "Awarapan". "Awarapan" excels in everything except for the fact that it doesn’t have a good plot. It is basically the coming-of-age movie of Emraan Hashmi. This is by far his best performance and you get to see a very different Emraan Hashmi flick. He is no more the "serial kisser" he used to be....he does not have any love-making scenes....but he delivers a knock-out performance in "Awarapan". How one wishes there would have been a good story here.
Director Mohit Suri does a fine job with the movie. He presents it in a different way and does manage to hold one’s attention throughout the movie. This is a major achievement because it is very tough doing such a thing if there is no good script to back up on. However, the first half does raise a few yawns as it drags in some portions. The second half picks up and how! The entire movie rests on Emraan’s shoulders and he proves it once again (he did so earlier in "Zeher" which was also directed by Mohit Suri) that he does have the potential to carry off a solo-hero film. He deserves nominations for the "best actor" categories in film award ceremonies this year for his rivetting performance as a criminal with a soul in "Awarapan". Take a bow, Mr. Hashmi! Please don’t do sleazy stuff like "The train" and "Jawani Diwani" anymore. All the other performances are good too. Shriya Saran has a small role. She looks pretty and does promise a lot but she does need to polish up her acting skills. She must be enjoying the success she has got from the Rajnikant-starrer tamil blockbuster - "Sivaji - the boss" right now. (For those who haave come in late.
She is in a female lead in the movie). Mrinalini Sharma is a powerhouse of talent. She has a striking resemblance to two actresses - Bipasha Basu and Geeta Basra (if you talk about looks). Ashutosh Rana is fabulous. One wonders what he must have been doing all these days. What took him so long to act in a movie again? Shaad was better in "Woh lamhe". There is no doubt that he does a good job as Emraan’s friend-turned-betrayer-turned-friend here. Purab Kohli overacts but he is okay as a drug-addict. Ashish Vidyarthi does a fine job. The direction is good and so is the music by Pritam (living up to the tradition of Vishesh films and Emraan).
Awarapan" is definitely among the better films churned out by Vishesh films. If I have to compare it with the other movies made by Mohit Suri, I’ll say that it comes nowhere near "Woh lamhe". It is better than "Kalyug" and as good as "Zeher". At the box-office, it should do well. However, it will face a huge competition from the very overhyped debut movie (as an actor) of Himesh Reshammiya - "Aap kaa suroor" and the three Deols-starrer "Apne".