Haasil follows in the line of ’’realism based’’ movies
that have steadily made their appearance at the
theatres since the success of Satya. However, realism
in Bollywood is a double edged sword. Everyday life in
India can shock so many of us that it is easy for such
movies to capture your attention. On the flip side, as
happens more often than not, after the initial shock
and tension have garnered your attention, the director
doesn’t know how to take the story forward. More
specifically, the director doesn’t know how to bring
the story to a logical conclusion. Madhur Bhandarkar
(in Chandni Bar) and of course, Ram Gopal Varma (in
Satya) managed powerful endings which stayed with the
viewers. However, they too faltered while trying to
repeat the same. Bhandarkar’s Satta had an insipid
climax while Varma’s Company had a shoddy second half.
Haasil follows in Company’s footsteps, burdening an
inspired first half with a totally lacklustre second
half. The climax is boring, the ending is plain
stupid. The entire work put in the first half stands
ruined by the end of the movie.
Haasil is the story of Aniruddha (Jimmy Shergill), a
student in a north India college who becomes involved
with a student leader Ranvijay Singh (Irfan Khan) in
his fight against another leader Gauriprasad Pandey
(Ashutosh Rana). The first half portrays a realistic
picture of student politics in India and manages to
hold your attention throughout. The second half
becomes a very cliched hero-heroine-villian triangle
that claws more and more on your nerves as it
proceeds.
Among the actors, Jimmy Shergill and Hrishita Bhatt
(as his lover) are decent. Ashutosh Rana is dependable
as always. The most impressive performance comes from
Irfan Khan who exudes a perfect mixture of calm and
insanity that adds to the evil he portrays. Some
scenes, like the one where Jimmy and Hrishita meet at
a friends house, are deftly handled. This particular
scene manages to beautifully depict Jimmy’s
awkwardness as he tries to kiss Hrishita. Alan Amin
redeems himself in the action department after the
disaster named ’’The Hero’’. The opening sequence is
well shot and sets the trend for the rest of the
action scenes. The dialogues range from striking and
humorous to total junk. The music is crappy, and
Jatin-Lalit really need to regain their touch if they
want to survive in the industry.
On the whole though, given the long spate of third
rate movies coming out of Bollywood, Haasil actually
appears to be worth your while (and money) in spite of
its many flaws.