First and foremost, comparisons of Shaitan wid Kashyap’s own take on youth excess ’Paanch’ are inevitable but except for the thematic elements, it is a completely fresh concept and obviously, the censors had no problems clearing Shaitan.....Paanch cant boast of the same feat, , , can it??????
Moving on2 Shaitan, , , , the film is pure magic for your cinematic senses...it is like your favorite dish....after you have finished it..you are bound to crave more for a few more helpings...
Call it magic, , call it street smart thinkin or watever..BIjoy nambiar manages to merge content with style in such a beautiful manner that some sequences in the film leave you in complete awe...Add a pulsatin soundtrack to it and what you have is a crime noir which forces you to keep thinkin til the last frame of the film...
The plot revolves around 5 youngsters called KC(Gulshan), Tanya(Kirti), Dash(Shiv), Amy (Kalki) & Zubin (Neil) who hail from filthy rich families...(atleast 4 of them do...Dash is a drug peddlar who has managed to climb up the social ladder with his HARDwork)..who have nothing better to do than party 24/7, snort cocaine, go for drives on their hummer and participate in ’JOINT’ efforts of all kinds...Their merrirment comes to a standstill one night when their road rage results in an accident where they end up killing a couple of hapless motorists...This incident sets in motion a chain of events where to shut the case they need to bribe the poilce inspector Malvankar (RAjkumar from Ragini MMS) and to come up with the bribe moeny, they stage a kidnapping of Amy which becomes primetime news and before the five realise what they are upto they become the famous 5....Here enters Inspector Mathur (RAjeev Khandelwal) who is battling marriage problems off his own and who is suspended for the time being for coolly pushing a rogue corporate off the first floor....The cat and mouse begins and one by one, the friends realise they are not so friendly after all with each other as the inner SHIATAN raises its ugly head...
The film’s narrative structure is brilliant and each and every character is well etched out...The only roadblock in the narrative is the dream sequences of Amy imagining her mom...I know it kinda helps in adding to her perosnality of a mentally unstable person but it crops up so many times that it becomes irritating after a point...
On the positive side, there are a couple of sequences which simply elevates the film to a new high...First one being the shootout and the subsequent running sequence with the remix of Khoya Khoya chand playing in the background is simply mindblowing...and the second one being when Inspector Mathur chases Malvankar and the background song is something to the tune of ’pintya gela’...you cant help but smile at this extremely intensive sequence coz its so much in sync with the https://lyrics..simply magical...
Moving on to the performances, , , Rajeev KHandelwal as Inspector Mathur is the trump card of the film..His amazingly calculated performance as a cop fighting his inner angst is superb....Among the 5, Shiv PAndit shines bright in his debut feature with a solid turn as the mastermind of the group...Gulshan, i am told has years of theatre experience...well..all that comes in handy as he plays the most menacing character of the group with ease...Neil doesnt have much to do but still manages to impress....Kirti Kulhari brings in the X factor to the group...SHe is extremely easy on the eyes...Kalki as alwayz is brilliant, , but I wish she didnt have to go into flashback mode so often and become the grudge girl...Rajat Barmecha (the Udaan boy) is a scene stealer in a cameo and that remains the bests equence of the film....Among the rest, Nikhil chinnapa has precious little to do than run behind rajiv khandelwal..Rajkumar continuing from where he left off in ragini mms is damn good....
The technical team is the one who is responsible for transforming the very face of Shaitan...The camera work is BRILLIANT....i mean..right from the slo mos to the intercut chase sequences have been captured with just the right amount of intensity..and adding to the visuals is the music which blends amazingly with the story and making the experience drool worthy....
Bijoy Nambiar...take a bow...your first film is PURE magic....What a start!!!! And this by far is the best film to come out this year and I have a strong intution that it will remin that....and anurag kashyap, , , the man who after the delectable’DevD’ and the inspiring ’Udaan’ has now offered ’Shaitan’....for him just one word....’RESPECT’.....