Review : Haasil

This is a good film, although I don’t think it was appreciated enough. Its a commercial movie, but an off-beat one, with the usual girl-meets-boy stuff taking a backseat to the political/criminal action. Allahabad university forms the backdrop, and dialogues often are in the vernacular. Anirudhh (Shergill) and Niharika (Bhatt) are students studying in the same college, and soon fall in love. Of course, the romance is hush-hush, and the pair meet in secret places. The director handles the initial blossoming-of-romance scenes sensitively, and we are treated to a couple of melodious songs.

The college politics is dominated by two rivals, Gauri Shankar (Ashutosh Rana) and Ranvijay Singh (Irfan Khan). One day, Anirudhh sees Ranvijay escaping (after committing a murder), and helps him evade Gauri Shankar’s goons. Ranvijay is thankful, and Anirudhh gets to know him better. As time goes by, Anirudhh moves closer to college politics, heavily swayed by Ranvijay, much to the chagrin of Niharika and family, who warn Anirudhh against Ranvijay. Matters come to a boil when Anirudhh commits a crime, instigated by Ranvijay, and is forced to flee to Bombay under Ranvijay’s protection. As Anirudhh fumes and festers in Bombay, desirous of meeting Niharika, things take a turn for the worse, as Niharika’s father (Tinnu Anand) promises her hand in marriage to someone else.

The remainder of the movie deals with the resolution of this mess, playing up the strength of the common man when provoked.

Direction is deft, and Dhulia delivers the goods in his debut movie. Shergill delivers a promising performance, morphing from the soft-spoken romantic, to the outraged protagonist. Hrishita is a decent enough actress, and complements Shergill in romantic situations. Both Ashutosh Rana and Tinnu anand churn out good performances, but Irfan Khan takes the cake with his potrayal of the unpredicatable Ranvijay. Ranvijay is a fierce criminal ,and his convoluted criminal mind is potrayed very effectively by Khan in a subtle and understated performance, rather than a belligerent one.