Aamir Khan, the unerring perfectionist and a master of getting things right on 'his' Fridays. Needless to say, the audience are ready to fall for everything that is Aamirilicious (ofcourse Mangal Pandey was an outrageous exception). This movie was no exception. Talaash is Indian cinema's second step towards spawning substance thriller narratives. The first one of course was 'Kahaani'.
Written jointly by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, Talaash is a very intelligent blend of the logical with the supernatural. It is perhaps this clever juxtaposition of the paranormal with the real that did the trick for 'Talaash'. The story revolves around the life of Inspector Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) his wife Roshni (Rani Mukherjee) and a prostitute Rosy (Kareena Kapoor). Shekhawat, who is solving a mysterious high profile accident case is himself haunted by ghosts of his past. Inflicted with the guilt of failing to save his young son from drowning to death, Shekhawat struggles to protect his ailing marriage. He finds refuge in Rosy, a prostitute, who also aids him in solving the accident mystery.
Technically, the film scores high on grounds of cinematography (K.U. Mohanan), background scores (Ram Sampath) and direction (Reema Kagti) . Kareena's acting needs to be lauded the most, for she has finally managed to curtail the loudness that she is known for. Rani's excellent acting skills sat largely idle, as the script didn't offer her character any significant room of importance. Though the characters have been etched with utmost attention, the film suffers from an unwanted drag. The pace of the film has fallen victim to the songs that pass uneventfully and end up dwindling the thrill and the interest in the plot. The director does not give into the viewer's curiosity but the story journeys through several monotonous patches that end up damaging the mood of the story.
Compared to Kahaani, Talaash scores low. Following are the reasons why Kahaani should score high:
Written jointly by Reema Kagti and Zoya Akhtar, Talaash is a very intelligent blend of the logical with the supernatural. It is perhaps this clever juxtaposition of the paranormal with the real that did the trick for 'Talaash'. The story revolves around the life of Inspector Shekhawat (Aamir Khan) his wife Roshni (Rani Mukherjee) and a prostitute Rosy (Kareena Kapoor). Shekhawat, who is solving a mysterious high profile accident case is himself haunted by ghosts of his past. Inflicted with the guilt of failing to save his young son from drowning to death, Shekhawat struggles to protect his ailing marriage. He finds refuge in Rosy, a prostitute, who also aids him in solving the accident mystery.
Technically, the film scores high on grounds of cinematography (K.U. Mohanan), background scores (Ram Sampath) and direction (Reema Kagti) . Kareena's acting needs to be lauded the most, for she has finally managed to curtail the loudness that she is known for. Rani's excellent acting skills sat largely idle, as the script didn't offer her character any significant room of importance. Though the characters have been etched with utmost attention, the film suffers from an unwanted drag. The pace of the film has fallen victim to the songs that pass uneventfully and end up dwindling the thrill and the interest in the plot. The director does not give into the viewer's curiosity but the story journeys through several monotonous patches that end up damaging the mood of the story.
Compared to Kahaani, Talaash scores low. Following are the reasons why Kahaani should score high:
- The fact that Kahaani was filmed without using sets, rendered extra ordinary richness to the look and feel of its entire narrative.
- Kahaani did not have a star cast as impressive as Talaash but each character was inevitable for its plot
- The pace at which Kahaani progressed was outstanding. The suspense ensued and in fact multiplied with every passing second.
Talaash is definitely marred by some flaws but overall it is a cleverly crafted fabric of suspense that will entertain you. If you are a cynic who always thought that Indian cinema could never produce intelligent thrillers then knock-knock.....winds of change have started blowing and of course the change is worth welcoming.
