Siskiyaan, produced by Guddu Dhanoa and directed by Ashwini Choudhary, is not your run of the mill Hindi film. It’s a film that delves deep into human emotions and instincts. Ashwini Choudhary gave an excellent account of his directorial abilities earlier, with films like Ladoo and Dhoop. Here too, he is in his element. Starring Neha Dhupia, Sachin Khedekar and Sonu Sood, the film is set in post riots Gujarat.
Ayesha Shaikh (Neha) is a journalist, who is a victim of the many atrocities that were committed during the riots. A doctor has repeatedly raped her in a relief camp. Her husband Javed (Sachin) is an honest, straight forward newspaper editor, who has been appointed by the State to inquire into the riots, and deliver justice to the victims. By sheer coincidence, one rainy night, Dr. Vishwas (Sonu) lands up at their house, and is forced to spend the night there, due to the inclement weather. Neha strongly feels that he is the same individual who has raped her. Since she was blindfolded in the relief camp, she is not sure. Her husband initially refuses to believe her, but later on, as the events move forward, he too starts believing her. The two of them terrorize and torment the apparently innocent doctor, threatening him with injury and death. The doctor maintains his innocence. The story them moves towards its climax, as Neha searches for answers—why and who. She wants to know the mind of a rapist; this is very important for her to remain sane and stable.
Produced in the format of a play, the film is stark and hard-hitting. The theme of the film is such that one has to ignore and excuse the foul language and the oft-repeated references to the act of rape and to human body parts. Though it is not based on any true-life incident, it is perhaps the story of many, not only in Gujarat, but also in many parts of our country. Atrocities on the weaker sex and on the minorities are only on the rise, if media reports are to believed.
Of the cast, Neha Dhupia, who is known more for her display of skin than for her acting prowess, surprises one and all by some extraordinary show of talent. Given the right plot, and a good director, Neha has a long future in front of her. Her fears, her turmoil, her frustrations and her total repulsiveness towards men and towards humanity in general, are well enacted. Showing streaks of mental imbalance and insanity, one wonders throughout the film whether she is plain and simple crazy, or is she close to the truth. Sachin Khedekar, whom we saw essaying some wonderful roles in films like Astitva and Bose, remains true to his reputation of being a capable and forceful actor. His moderate, progressive, Muslim act is remarkable, although adding an Urdu touch to his dialogues would have helped. Sonu Sood is competent, but needs to work on his acting skills and his voice and speech.
A good taut thriller, this film will make the audiences sit up and think. What however prevents this good film from becoming a great film is the lack of technical excellence. From sound design to art direction to editing, the film needs a bit more of spit and polish. And though a couple of Choreographers are mentioned in the credits, one did not see any dance in the film. Also, there was scope for the lead actors to be more intense in their acting and in their dialogue delivery skills. In films which are psycho thrillers, the use of the human voice modulation skills adds a totally new dimension to the film, very often sending shivers up the audience’s spine.