Movie Review: 7 Khoon Maaf : Wicked, bleary, funny dark chronicle

The head still whirls, stepping out of Westend theatre, at Vishal Bharadwaj’s dark, nightmarish yarn about a woman killing off each of her husbands in the search to pacify her lovelorn heart. Through more than two decades of turbulence and rare happiness, Suzzana is aided in her executions by her faithful servants. By the end credits, she is ready to confess all, in a church though.

The humour is ink spreading on the blotting paper of betrayal, lust and human ruin. Although seemingly far-fetched as a story, the director paints black, dim lights and overcast gray, twilight-akin outdoors where his characters play out their little comedy. So there is a chauvinistic army man, a drug-addicted rock star and a perverted poet to be bumped off in the first half. In their midst there are allegories – be it the 1984 Operation Bluestar or the 1993 riots. The intermission message says – four more to go.

It is post interval that we get more edge in the proceedings, a Russian Spy is made to go down a well, the investigating police officer happens to fall in love with the murderer and goes blind in lust for her. A doctor thwarts a suicide attempt that leads to a chain of consequences. Finally, the narrator of the story meets up with Suzzana, now with silvery, boy-cut hair, and attends her symbolic seventh wedding, that gives away to a dervish-like dance, a culmination of all the haunting visual language the film uses.

Not for a mainstream audience, and purely filled with the director’s creative fountain flowing in each frame, 7 Khoon Maaf is a dark comedy, that could have been more fun and crazy. It is still a mesmerising watch for its unique storytelling, throbbing dialogues and mastery over the visual medium. For the die-hard cinema lover.

Priyanka Chopra gives her best performance yet of her career, the supporting cast are all competent, especially Irrfan Khan, Naseeruddin Shah, Annu Kapoor and Vivaan Shah.

Wintry shroud
A snow-white cat walks over snow, and not a word needs to be uttered, it is a teasing riddle, a powerful visual punch when solved.

Movie Review: New York:Emotionally wayward, but bearable

After 9/11, the USA government went paranoid, arresting and then torturing people just because they belonged to a particular religion. Most of them were released due to lack of evidence, some, after been detained for over three years. What would be going through the minds of such people? Would such brutal treatment cause them to be terrorists, seeking revenge?

New York tries answering these questions through its main protagonists - Sameer (John Abraham) and Maya (Katrina Kaif) as a happily married couple, Omar (Niel Nitin Mukesh), an old friend who is forced to spy on them for FBI agent Roshan (Irrfan Khan). Despite been overtly emotional at certain instances, the movie just about gets its message across, even though it may not sound convincing.

A good watch for, let us say, honest performances by Abraham and Kaif and a surprisingly 'OK' turn by Irrfan Khan, New York still holds your attention. Niel Nitin Mukesh gets a golden opportunity in a pivotal role, but just about registers. Only if it could have taken us deeper into the whole thing of victimization in the name of security.