Shaitan (2011)

Simply A Masterpiece

Highly Overrated But Still Good

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

its been a long time i had this movie, so today i watched it along with my European wife and god bless the film makers, they came out with a gem. Well, since we already watched DevD together, she was expecting something of same level. Its colourful,fun, vibrant, dark,comedic,stupid and realistic. Its a movie that has made me proud. In a whole year I watch maybe 3 or 5 max bollywood movies, because of the utter Shiites being released. And this year i managed this movie as the first one. I would say that whoever watches this one would be surprised at the level of maturity being shown. It can challenge Hollywood, in terms of every aspects of production. Real gem.

Truly speaking it's an upgraded version of Anurag Kashyap's own debut film made almost a decade back, which was banned by the censors. The film was titled "PAANCH" and it was also a story of 5 friends who find themselves in a fix due to some unforeseen circumstances. Interestingly it was supposed to be the debut movie of Tejasvini Kolhapure (Padmini Kohlapuri's sister) too. Written on the same theme SHAITAN also revolves around a group of 3 boys and 2 girls who suddenly get involved in a bloody accident killing two innocent men on the road. And then to save themselves from the Police they unwillingly have to make further plans which bring in more trouble for them. Apart from "Paanch" the main theme of the film also reminds you of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997) and "Very Bad Things" (1998). It starts off well with a brilliant collage kind of first few minutes which has Anurag Kashyap stamp all over it along with the well composed and arranged background score. The first half an hour has got nothing much other than the introduction of its characters which makes the viewer a little restless to see something more thrilling happening on the screen. And then there comes the shocking accident which brings in the pace and in a few minutes the film gets converted into a bloody thrilling drama. But sadly, post intermission it all gets a little messy, lengthy and repetitive which even becomes tedious to watch till the end.No doubt, the debutant director Bejoy Nambiar proves his talent with a strong grip over the performances, camera angles and presentation of the movie. He shows a remarkable sense of shooting tense sequences and action packed chases with interesting musical tracks being played in the background. But as far as the content and plot is concerned he has nothing new to offer and also leaves too many loopholes in the script which could have been easily avoided.For instance, 1. There is no account of the 2 innocent people murdered in the accident in the whole film. 2. The dream scenes of Koechlin and her mother seem to be inserted deliberately to give it an artistic touch and for justifying the mysterious character of the girl which fail to make any kind of impact. 3. Post the kidnapping plan all the five friends keep wandering in the market and even go out for a movie in a theater, wearing white shinning sports shoes under their black burqas and no one ever suspects them. 4. The side track of Rajeev Khandelwal's broken marriage is neither interesting nor gels well with the theme of the film. Though the silent moments within the couple are well conceived, but the track could have been easily edited out to keep the duration short. 5. The attempted rape sequence of one of the girls again looks out of place, when in a very questionable scene (just before that) the girl is shown standing in the mid of a dark staircase with her revealing dress, a lighter and in a posture like a prostitute . 6. The film is quite long and becomes very tiring towards the climax. And supporting my observation I would like to mention, the voice I heard coming from my back in the hall, just before the climax, which said, "Arey Yeh Kab Khatam Hogi?"Performance wise, I found everyone putting their best but still not hitting the bull's eye due to the incomplete characterizations given to them by the writers. The whole cast is fine but somehow you can't relate to them while watching the film. Rajeev Khandelwal excels everyone else, in the role of a tough cop and is terrific, but still he doesn't come up as hard as it should be. Raj Kumar Yadav, of LSD and RAGINI fame, is once again very realistic and likable as the corrupt police official. Koechlin is improving with her each film and perfectly suits the role written for her, but it's high time she should come out of the image of a psycho person. Kirti as the second female lead looks beautiful but gets less scope in comparison. Out of the three boys, the best act comes from Gulshan Devaiya as KC followed by Shiv Pandit and Neil Boopalam. In the supporting case Pawan Malhotra & Rajit Kapur are just fine, Nikhil Chinnappa is hardly seen and Rukhsar successfully manages to catch your attention.The other worth mentioning merit of the movie apart from its impressive treatment and striking Cinematography, is its interesting Soundtrack including the background score. Although the film should have been a song less thriller, but still the intelligent use of the songs in the backdrop add a different perspective in its narration which really works.So, if only you are interested in watching a movie for its treatment, cinematography and few great chase sequences then do go for SHAITAN. But if you are an avid viewer of English Cinema then you may not find anything fresh in this over lengthy venture made on a seen before plot. To be straight, I only found one enjoyable scene in the film, when Rajeev simply kicks the auto-rickshaw and forcibly sits in after the driver refuses to go and that's it.

The self realization process is always tough. You have to deal with inner demons and divinity. Some people call it Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is about to know your emotions and being aware of how to express it. There are lot of among us who doesn't know how to express rage. They prone to rage instantly and make unfavorable decisions. Shaitaan talks about it but unfortunately in unorganized way. The director, cinematographer succeeds to set loud premises for the film, but then they fails to deliver organized, tight film. It is script that fails to realize resolution point. Director tried too many concepts but he never concluded a thing. This film ends with uncertain note. Director wanted to tell that inner demon can destroy you and there is also divine side which can be pulled out by love, sympathy, affection. Screenplay is real star of the film. Sequence where two protagonist fights in front of Jesus gives you multi-dimensional perspective. Shaitaan comes with surprises, because only predictability of inner demon is its unpredictability. Love can takes you away from your inner demon. It was justified in the film.Acting department has got new talent. Rajeev Khandelwal is the one who stands out. You can see maturity in his acting. Kalki's story is a high point of the film, especially opening sequence that exactly portrays inner demon. Actually director treats it as a part of personality rather than predefined emotion. Cameramen used similar camera movement in the introduction sequence of the film that enriches the experience. I enjoyed that part most. Background score is funny because it brings out the sarcasm. There are very small details that make this cinema more interesting. Things like original name of Amy that sounded like typical Indian rural name, which emphasis on contrast between personalities. Hammer car that denotes loud, care free attitude towards life.Somehow this film reminds me Danny Boyle's Trainspotting, may be because of care free attitude that portrays in both films. In the era so called entertaining cinema, this kind of cinema maintains balance in Hindi film industry,

Shaitan speaks about the devil inside each of us, the devil who might take over us when we our own life is in trouble. It also speaks about the corrupt system, its flaws and the people who manipulate the system making use of their indecipherable power.The movie revolves around a group of five young troubled spoiled brats in Mumbai, who as usual have issues with their lives. Spiced up with some offensively witty scenes and dialogues, which is a good thing considering the plot of the movie, the movie is targeted towards the youth and does offer what any regular new age individual would look for in the movie. All the five lead actors seemed appropriate for their characters but for me Gulshan Devaiya as K.C. did a fabulous job among the five. Apart from him, Rajeev Khandelwal performed flawlessly in playing the role of a cop and I was immensely pleased to see Raj Kumar Yadav as a shady police officer. His part was short but he could not have done it better, in fact, he was the perfect choice for that character. But even though the flick was filled with good performances all around and even better direction, it lacked excitement. The whole dish didn't seem to tempt me anytime throughout the meal. It was predictable at times and the idea of rebellious spoiled brats is becoming stale now. This movie is definitely worth watching once or maybe twice for some people, but it is nothing extraordinary and didn't leave me wondering or wanting for more.