Yakeen is the directorial debut of Girish Dhamija, who has worked as the dialogue writer for movies like Raaz and Kasoor.
Yakeen begins with an accident. Arjun Rampal plays a business tycoon Nikhil, and Priyanka Chopra plays his wife Simar. The husband and wife meet with an accident after their car falls off a cliff. While Simar comes out of the accident with minor injuries, Nikhil is hospitalized. He loses his memory.
Slowly, with the help of Simar, Nikhil begins reconstructing his past life. He also relies on his business associates to recreate his forgotten past. As the pieces of jigsaw puzzle begin to fit, Nikhil realizes that something is amiss.
And then, random flashbacks from his memory create a suspicion in his mind regarding his wife. It seems to him that she was having an affair with a man named Kabir (Sudhanshu Pandey) around the time when the accident happened.
Nikhil hires a private detective (Saurabh Shukla) to unravel the mystery of his past and his wife's infidelity. What follows is a series of unpleasant revelations for Nikhil. The movie's unexpected climax comes like a bolt out of the blue.
Yakeen starts off very well and keeps you glued to the screen in the initial reels (the sequences in hospital), but then a series of songs, despite their proper placement, breaks the story's momentum.
In spite of the developments in the plot in the second half, the movie loses its grip over you. Reason? Some of these developments are quite predictable (like the revelations of the detective) and the others (like the sudden disappearance of Kim Sharma's character) not reasonable enough. The climax somewhat compensates for the lukewarm second half, but not well enough.
Arjun Rampal suits his character to T. He verily complements his suave looks and deep voice with an ample range of expressions, from love to suspicion. However, he still lacks the 'stuff' that makes reliable tinsel heroes.
Priyanka Chopra definitely catches your attention with her now-lovely-now-cunning looks. The gorgeous belle seems to have a natural flair to change expressions with quicksilver ease.
In the marginal roles, Sudhanshu Pandey and Kim Sharma are adequate. Saurabh Shukla rekindles your interest in the movie everytime he comes on screen.
Yakeen's story by Vikram Bhatt and director Girish Dhamija is quite novel, although it reeks of inspiration from the 1991 Hollywood movie 'Shattered'.
Yakeen seems to have the ingredients that make a thriller. But somehow the final product lacks the punch that sends shivers down the spine of those expecting a thrilling celluloid experience.
Movie Review : Infidelity and Amnesia (1/10) Yakeen is the directorial debut of Girish Dhamija, who has worked as the dialogue writer for movies like Raaz and
Priyanka eagerly awaits Barsaat
Yakeen: About love, distrust and amnesia
Sarkar or Yakeen!
