Shaitan
Storyline
Five substance-abusing friends decide to fake a kidnapping in order to bribe a police constable for covering-up a hit-and-run accident. –IMDb
Director:
Writers:
Bejoy Nambiar, Abhijit Deshpande , and Megha Ramaswamy (dialogues)
Stars:
Rajeev Khandelwal, Neil Bhoopalam, Gulshan Devaiya, Kalki Koechlin, Kalki Koechlin and Shiv Pandit
Genres:
The film is about a bunch of kids(as they are supposed to be attending schools) who are rich and carry a devil-may-care attitude. A ‘rebel without a clue’, ‘KC’ ,who has a rich god-fearing dad, doesn’t mind stealing his mom’s jewellery when he and his friends are in trouble and need money. Amy an NRI joins the ‘gang’ later ,has a destructive mentality because she lost her mother at an early age and holds everyone in her family responsible for that. Tanya,a forced model who does a saree ad because her sister wants her to. Dash is the guy we know least about and ‘Zubin’ played by Neil bhoopalam an ex channel ‘v’ video jockey a gadget geek who sheepishly smiles when he gets caught by his mom giving himself a hand-job and finally Rajeev Khandelwal as Inspector Mathur who impresses again as ‘tough as nail’ cop who would rather kick an auto-driver than arguing when he refuses to go to a certain place .
First time director Bejoy seems to have done his homework well and impresses with innovative camera techniques. 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 sequencs and action packed chases with interesting musical tracks being played in the background. There’s a shot through a beer bottle during a song and the introduction of Insepector Mathur which is done in POV camera style. The story has nothing new to offer but when a filmmaker like Anurag Kashyap is involved even if only as a producer, he makes sure we get nothing but the best. Producer Anurag kashyap is a prolific director himself and some of the scenes in the film seem like they’ve been lifted straight from his previous films. He has his own unique style of storytelling which keeps you hooked till the very end. The movie is a cinematic achievement and is a must watch for every cinema lover.
‘Shaitan’ scores some extra points when it shows some real gory and bloody scenes and creates a feeling of horror in the viewer who by so far was enjoying good music and trying to relive his own college days by watching the gang’s juvenile antics. This film does, what ‘Dil chahta hai’ and ‘Rang de basanti’ did for the decade just went by,which is, showing another facade of the youth which can be all fun-loving at times but has the potential for being the most turbulent when its expected to be at its best.
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.
Still from Shaitan
The movie however isn’t free of some faults. The storyline has nothing we haven’t seen or the length of the mvovie could be less by atleast 15 minutes. But nevertheless the fast paced action, the haunting music, Rajeev Khandelwal’s grit and Kalki’s neurotic expressions when she is high, makes you want to forgive all the negative aspects of the movie and makes you an instant fan. Remarkable scenes :- the accident scene(of course), the crashing of the beer bottle and a TV set, by KC and Dash respectively, on the heads of two guys who were ‘teasing’ and ‘more than teasing’ their girls, Khoya Khoya Chand(thats already a rage), the shot where Inspector Arvind Mathur flashes from behind a bed and kills a junkie(though you can’t possibly save yourself from machine gun fires with a mattress) and Amy’s hallucinations of her mom when she is high in the ‘Church’ (thats Anurag Kashyap).
SHAITAN has an ensemble cast and offers ample scope for each character to perform. Rajeev Khandelwal, playing a cop who’s fighting his inner demons, nails the role, giving a tight, focused performance. Kalki is excellent. She’s sure to wow and shock the audiences with her act. Neil Bhoopalam is first-rate. Especially towards the latter moments of the film. Shiv Pandit gives a good account of himself. Kirti Kulhari is super efficient. Gulshan Deviah is top notch. The peculiar behavior comes across very well in several sequences. Rajat Barmecha(Udaan) appears in an interesting cameo.
The supporting cast also delivers fine performances. Pavan Malhotra is first-rate. Rajit Kapur leaves an impression. Nikhil Chinnappa is good. Rukhsar makes her presence felt. Rajkumar Yadav gets it right yet again.
Watch the movie for the brilliant camera work, indeed. Cinematography. The music, especially Bali and Fareeda. The acting – all of the actors have done a very very good job, but special credits to Rajeev Khandelwal and Kalki. I rate it 7 out of 10.
Prateak Movie Review 
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