Souten - The Other Woman
Director:Karan Razdan
Producer:Naveen Tak
Cast: Mahima Choudhary
Souten, written-directed by Karan Razdan, could’ve been a refreshingly different film, but in an effort to provide ’hatke’ entertainment, the director loses track and stumbles badly, making a complete mess of the film in the process.
Mahima is a wife of a millionaire named Gulshan Grover. She is young, beautiful and loves to live to fullest.But, Gulshan is always busy contemplating to increase his business empire. He has little time for Mahima .Naturaly she wants to quench her thirst of physical satisfaction and the very first man that she finds close to her is the brother of his husband’s partner Shakti Kapoor. Shakti has taken all care of his brother Vikram Singh and has a lot of affection for him. So, when Vikram lands at Mahima’s place, she is entrusted to escort him for outing. Mahima gets a chance to feel the touch and soon she has him on the bed.
The relationship between Vikram and Mahima keeps growing but until Padmini Kolhapure, Shakis wife comes to know about it. Padmini confronts Mahima on this and warns her of the consequences. But, Mahima who is devoid of this physical pleasure for long, won’t let Vikram slip out of her grip. On the other hand, Padmini manages to convince Vikram that he is in the wrong. And, before Mahima could do any thing, her stepdaughter Kiran Rathod moves in. Vikram meets Kiron and after an initial hate, they develop a bond.
Mahima plays the vamp again and tells kironabout her and Vikram’s relationship. Kiron is shocked to know all this and she leaves Vikram and agrees to marry another boy....What happens next???
Souten suffers because director Karan Razdan seems completely ill at ease handling such a complex issue. Actually, the screenplay hampers the proceedings to a great extent. It looks drab and is hardly captivating. Though the first half moves at a brisk pace, it looks disjointed .The story he has opted for had scope for a lot of drama, but the writing is so routine that the viewer can actually guess what the next sequence would be like. Even the dialogues are outright predictable
The biggest culprit is its screenplay, which does not boast of moments that would keep the audience interest alive. Too much emphasis is given to the scenes showing Kiran and Vikram , which was just not needed.Another drawback of the film is the climax, which stands on a weak drama. The ease with which Mahima hands over Kiran to Vikram comes as a jolt to the viewer since he expects some fireworks .
Even the songs and their placement are far from impressive. Barring ’Ab Dil’, the remaining songs don’t contribute to the plot at all. In fact, atleast two songs -- Barsaat’’ and ’souten’ -- have been placed without any relevance to the goings-on.
Mahima does not impress. She shows sparks in a few scenes only. Kiron Rathod is just about okay, though she looks plump on several occasions. Padmini is wasted in an inconsequential role. She looks tired and least interested in the goings-on. Vikram Singh is awkward.Gulshan and Shakti ham as if there is no tomorrow.
On the whole, Souten is a weak film in all respects. Lack of proper publicity, not-too-hot star cast and dull initial response will prove unfavourable for the film.