sssshhh... -> review
sssshhh...
27th October 2003
"sssshhh..." is a movie by Pavan Kaul, its instructive to remember that the same guy also made a serial by the same name on Star Plus a year or two ago. And that serial wasn't anything to write home about. "sssshhh..." the movie is a suspense thriller, coming close on the heels of "Samay".
The movies teasers have been done stylishly building tremendous curiosity, despite the fact that the movie doesn't have any big names to boast of. Its a big risk making a film where your lead actors are Karan Nath, with a 100% failure record, Dino Morea, universally acknowledged non-actor and Tanisha, who could give WWF's Chyna a complex with her scary built. And to top it all, Pavan Kaul has chosen a genre which is never easy to execute, everything has to fall in place for a suspense thriller to work, the script, camerawork, performances, background score, editing et al. The only successful suspense thriller in the last ten-fifteen years that comes to my mind which had everything right was Abbas-Mastan's 'Khiladi'. And Pavan Kauls only movie before this was the eminently forgettable Pooja Bhatt-Aditya Pancholi starrer 'Chor aur Chand' (good music though). The odds are stacked heavily against the director. And does he succeed??? Well, Yes and No.
It is intuitive to look at a movie as a one-day cricket match. "sssshhh..." starts with a murder of Maheks (Tanisha) sister. Events start unfolding rapidly with the killer making an emphatic entry within the first twenty minutes. 70/0 in 15 overs. And then the movie meanders aimlessly into the lifes of the college friends Rocky(Dino), Suraj(Karan), Mahek and Rajat(Gaurav Kapoor). Although, the killer in the mask of a joker keeps making his presence felt off and on. It starts getting lousy at times due to amatuerish performances, especially by Tanisha. 130/4 in 35 overs. The film again starts gathering momentum when this group of friends move to Thailand for a break. The camerawork and locations both in Shimla and in Thailand are first rate. Fireworks in slog overs before the interval. 240/8 in 50 overs.
A problem with "Samay" which thankfully isn't there in "sssshhh..." is the fact that till the very last reel when the identity of the killer is revealed you have no clues. It keeps the audience guessing. Anyway, the second half of the movie is shot in Thailand at the breathtaking locales of an island. An island where there is no one except this group of friends and the killer itself. The killer starts eliminating the members of the group one by one. The movie seems to score at a reasonably good run rate but never quite reaches the required run rate. 70/3 in 25 overs. There are sequences meant to portray the love triangle which are not quite useless but needed to be dealt with a bit more sensitivity. They flop due to the lack of acting abilities of the trio. 150/6 in 40 overs. The tension starts building up once again as all the characters but for the lead three are slaughtered. You don't know whether its Dino or Karan Nath. And theres a twist in the tale too. Sting in the tail in cricketing jargon. Last minute fireworks. But they fail to repair the damage that has already been done.
On the positive side "sssshhh..." has some excellent locations and cinematography. It is gripping in parts and music too is above average but on the flip side, the placement of songs, the unskilled performances and a loose screenplay leave a lot to be desired.
"sssshhh..." is like a cricket match which is hard fought but not with much intensity. The second innings never takes off, although, the tail tries to make some amends but one shouldn't expect the bowlers to do the batters job. Its like Kenya chasing Zim's 240. You'll watch it only if you are a die hard cricket fan, Similary watch "sssshhh..." if you are a die hard movie fan. Otherwise sit at home and enjoy the weather.
27th October 2003
"sssshhh..." is a movie by Pavan Kaul, its instructive to remember that the same guy also made a serial by the same name on Star Plus a year or two ago. And that serial wasn't anything to write home about. "sssshhh..." the movie is a suspense thriller, coming close on the heels of "Samay".
The movies teasers have been done stylishly building tremendous curiosity, despite the fact that the movie doesn't have any big names to boast of. Its a big risk making a film where your lead actors are Karan Nath, with a 100% failure record, Dino Morea, universally acknowledged non-actor and Tanisha, who could give WWF's Chyna a complex with her scary built. And to top it all, Pavan Kaul has chosen a genre which is never easy to execute, everything has to fall in place for a suspense thriller to work, the script, camerawork, performances, background score, editing et al. The only successful suspense thriller in the last ten-fifteen years that comes to my mind which had everything right was Abbas-Mastan's 'Khiladi'. And Pavan Kauls only movie before this was the eminently forgettable Pooja Bhatt-Aditya Pancholi starrer 'Chor aur Chand' (good music though). The odds are stacked heavily against the director. And does he succeed??? Well, Yes and No.
It is intuitive to look at a movie as a one-day cricket match. "sssshhh..." starts with a murder of Maheks (Tanisha) sister. Events start unfolding rapidly with the killer making an emphatic entry within the first twenty minutes. 70/0 in 15 overs. And then the movie meanders aimlessly into the lifes of the college friends Rocky(Dino), Suraj(Karan), Mahek and Rajat(Gaurav Kapoor). Although, the killer in the mask of a joker keeps making his presence felt off and on. It starts getting lousy at times due to amatuerish performances, especially by Tanisha. 130/4 in 35 overs. The film again starts gathering momentum when this group of friends move to Thailand for a break. The camerawork and locations both in Shimla and in Thailand are first rate. Fireworks in slog overs before the interval. 240/8 in 50 overs.
A problem with "Samay" which thankfully isn't there in "sssshhh..." is the fact that till the very last reel when the identity of the killer is revealed you have no clues. It keeps the audience guessing. Anyway, the second half of the movie is shot in Thailand at the breathtaking locales of an island. An island where there is no one except this group of friends and the killer itself. The killer starts eliminating the members of the group one by one. The movie seems to score at a reasonably good run rate but never quite reaches the required run rate. 70/3 in 25 overs. There are sequences meant to portray the love triangle which are not quite useless but needed to be dealt with a bit more sensitivity. They flop due to the lack of acting abilities of the trio. 150/6 in 40 overs. The tension starts building up once again as all the characters but for the lead three are slaughtered. You don't know whether its Dino or Karan Nath. And theres a twist in the tale too. Sting in the tail in cricketing jargon. Last minute fireworks. But they fail to repair the damage that has already been done.
On the positive side "sssshhh..." has some excellent locations and cinematography. It is gripping in parts and music too is above average but on the flip side, the placement of songs, the unskilled performances and a loose screenplay leave a lot to be desired.
"sssshhh..." is like a cricket match which is hard fought but not with much intensity. The second innings never takes off, although, the tail tries to make some amends but one shouldn't expect the bowlers to do the batters job. Its like Kenya chasing Zim's 240. You'll watch it only if you are a die hard cricket fan, Similary watch "sssshhh..." if you are a die hard movie fan. Otherwise sit at home and enjoy the weather.
posted by Ankur Pruthi at Monday, October 18, 2004
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