Mar gaya woh jawaan, mar gaya woh jawaan ... ab suno daastaan ...
Think Ek Hasina Thi and you are bound to remember Kishore da’s immortal number in a jiffy. The defining moment in the only good film that Subhash Ghai directed - Karz. Rishi Kapoor strumming the guitar to Laxmikant Pyarelal’s tune which has now become a classic, Tina Munim looking as cute as ever and acting as badly as ever, Pran in one of his usual cameos ... what an amazing movie!
Hold on, this isn’t supposed to be a review on Karz! The reason I digress is my oh-so-favourite Simi Garewal, who couldn’t stop her oh-so-natural ’Ooh I am such a sooopheeesticated prim ’n’ propah lady ...’ even while murdering her husband in this flick. Since Simi starred in my previous review on Paap’s music, I decided to rope her in for a guest appearance on this review as well. It’s called ’super duper stition’, you see, if Karan Johar can employ the same kid to count stars, of all the idiosyncracies, in both his films, can’t I take my beloved Simi ?!
Pre-Bhoot, Urmila had only one fan. His name was Ram Gopal Verma. But then, as the fellow discovered the Antaras and the gardeners, er, Malis of this world, he decided that Urmila was not beautiful anymore. Woh hasina nahin hai. Woh ek hasina thi
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I get the feeling that had RGV not struck gold as a director, he could have considered teaching grammer. He seems to be obsessed with tenses - especially the past tense, when it comes to Urmila. In one his recent films, he and Urmila rediscovered the rules for the formation of the past tense in Hindi. Bhoot kaal, you know ... and now, in spite of Urmila being alive and kicking (god knows whom), he decides that the film will be called Ek Hasina Thi.
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And there is the guy who tries to imitate Sachin Tendulkar’s baritone - Saif Ali Khan. He had a major problem with this title.
’’Sirf EK hasina? Oh come on guys, paagal ho gaye ho kya? Agar beemar-veemar padh gayi toh ?!’’
Hmm, our idealogies match ... and this time, Saif decides to shun Bisleri and not play saif, er, safe ... Don’t assume that he is starring in a Champa-Chameli Indian porno! It’s just that for once, he isn’t playing safe by playing the same old character which was appreciated in his previous films - so no more Poojas and Doojas ...
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And there is this guy called Raj Lalwani ... who believes that the three best movies of this new millennium (since 2K, that is) have been Dil Chahta Hai, 3 Deewaarein and ... ... ... suspense khulega break ke baad!
Commercial: Use Hit to kill those rodents. Say goodbye to rats! (you will know why this commercial is being aired when you see the film!)
Back after the break, and after a lot of pasina, I give my vote to the hasina!
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Indeed! Ek Hasina Thi is the best Hindi movie I have seen since 3D and Dil Chahta Hai ... not convinced? Read on ... (all right, I know it’s painful, I know that I have given you a headache, but now that you have already got the headache, what’s the harm in reading on and commenting?)
After having suffered the torturour MPKDH and Boo(b)m, the Gods were livid. And they sent Sri Ram to restore sanity ...
Sri Ram, er, Sriram Raghavan is yet another debutant director tio have jumped on to the bandwagon. And he has won the gold medal for high jump and long jump by creating a masterpiece (whatever that meant ...)
Ek Hasina Thi is novel, intriguing and spine-chilling. I reckon it’s the best thriller Bollywood has seen, and that’s due to a number of factors.
This is one film which delves into the genre of a thriller and sticks to it. So, we do not have a so-called spine chilling slasher flick which has Tusshaar Kapoor dancing in pink pyjamas and twirling his eyebrows!There is only one song, and that too is played in the background as important events unfold.
The story may be reminiscent of Gumraah and Double Jeopardy, but when you watch this on screen, you do not think about these films for even a miniscule second. The screenplay is simply brilliant. All along, you know that there is a twist coming up, but the way it springs up has you astounded. Raghavan’s direction is fantastic. The first half had me wondering whether I had ever seen a film which could match this. In comparision, the latter half paled a wee bit, but seen individually, you cannot have any complaints.
The most interesting and amazing aspect is the various characters. They may be there just for the solitary scene, maybe just a side profile, but each and every character etches into your mind, quite unlike Sooraj Barbaad Kiya’s batallion of servants, drivers, watchmen, maids and other bumpkins. Which reminds me that there are animals in this one too, and the mice (yeah, you read that right! Mice actually play an important role in this flick!) look like Penelope Cruz, if compared to MPKDH’s parrot ... Tom Cruise actually considered inviting the mice in his bed, but Penelope wouldn’t have any of it.
The scorned neughbour, the damsel in distress who undergoes a change in her personality due to certain events (Urmila), the smooth-talking, suave fellow who may not be what he seems (Saif), the no-nonsense lady inspector (Seema Biswas), the suave guy’s friend who is right out of Cartoon Network, the woman who has committed four murders yet has a humane facet to her personality, the woman gangster who operates from prison and aids the victimised convict, the mean lawyer ... each and every character is perfectly characterized, depicted and analysed. Simply brilliant stuff, this.
While the solitary song is innovatively sung by a couple of new singers, the background music is fabulous. No buzzing sounds from Bhoot here, and watch out for some great techno in the fast-paced scenes.
Urmila Matondkar excels as the hasina. Her entire transformation and the gamut of emotions she experiences after Saif’s friend’s murder are enacted amazingly. Bhoot, Pinjar, Tehzeeb and now Ek Hasina Thi ... it seems that Urmila is compensating bigtime for her earlier flicks which concentrated on no clothes and no acting ...
Seema Biswas is fantastic in her role of the strict, no-nonsense lady in uniform. She gets a chunk of the impactful dialogues and acts through her eyes ...
The show-stealer? Not again ... Saif Ali Khan is simply brilliant as the suave Karan Singh Rathod. His attempts to woo Urmila, his changing moods and demanours, his cheeky replies, his ruthless acts ... This performance probably even surpasses his performance in DCH. He would be the last person one would imagine in this role, but he stuns and is the best of the trio. His chemistry with Urmila is electric and comparisions with Leonardo DiCaprio’s role and performance in Catch Me If You Can will not be far-fetched!
Koi Mil Gaya may have had one of the greatest performances ever, but as a movie, it was slow and amateurish. Kal Ho Na Ho might have had some great wit and performances by the lead, but the screenplay and the 1073 extras ruined the film. Munnabhai MBBS may have been hilarious, but it was a little too preachy and certain sequences, especially those which didn’t feature Boman Irani, were rather boring. Want something that’s flawless? Contact Sachin Tendulkar. Or easier, catch Ek Hasina Thi ...
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Ek hasina thi ... aur bahut saare comments hoge!