Mahesh Bhatt s ‘Zeher’ gives an impression of a glorified morning show movie in a shady theatre over the first few phases. It is developed into a thriller and disappointingly, it is closed as a typical bollywood movie, confusing the viewer and leaving him with a feeling that it could have been handled better.
The story is about a Police Inspector ( can our heroes be any less than IPS officers / Police Officers ??) Siddhart (Emran Hashmi ). A straightforward policeman who is going through a strained personal relationship with his wife Sonia (Shamita Shetty ), Siddarth is tricked into a trap by Anna Verghese ( Udita Goswami ), a lady who tricks in men for money. Sonia s rejoining the police force paves way for a further strained time, but all ends well in the end.
The movie has some lovely songs and it invokes memories of Jism in ways more than one, except that the hero is married. It presents adultery and has a couple of ‘scenes’ , that take care of the ‘ commercial aspect’ ( The industry is not creative enough to come up with a better excuse for picturizing bedroom moments) of the movie. The story is initially conspicuous by the under development of characters and later on, by plain confusion between the thriller aspect and the ‘happily lived thereafter ‘ theme. Director Suri surely disappoints in his endeavour.
Emran has a steely expression and there is no difference in his expressions in a tough situation or in a romantic situation. He however, does satisfy the basic requirements of a hero – bashing up goons, being honest in his profession and cheating his spouse ‘in a moment of weakness’ and swearing his love for his spouse before and after the moments of weakness.
Shamita Shetty is more professional in her approach and one cannot miss the striking resemblance to her more famous sister. She looks smart in her costume as an officer. A couple of expressive moments indicates she has the talent, but she has a long way to go.
Udita Goswami s role is a powerful one, but unfortunately, the actress does not seem to make the best out of it. She is not ‘hot’ enough for the seducing role and she is not expressive enough in other situations, making her feel like a fish out of water when she is in front of the camera. Poor direction comes to the fore, as the director seems to have settled for shots that are not the best.
Music is a breeze and Roopkumar Rathod makes a mark with a couple of lively songs. In fact, it remains the only positive of the movie from beginning till the end. ‘O lamhe ‘ and ‘agar tum mil jao ‘ are a welcome change from the fast and meaningless beat churned out in plenty today. Picturization of Goa seems authentic, yet it is simply not sufficient to pull the movie through.
Zeher is sure to disappoint the audience who expect a good movie. But, with mediocrity being an accepted norm in Bollywood movies these days, my rating may not reflect box office sentiments. Mahesh Bhatt - Emran combination cannot pull this one through, despite the scenes and smooches. Try something better next time, gentlemen !!