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'Siskiyaan' A half-baked experiment

By Aparajita Ghosh
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Neha Dhupia starrer Siskiyaan is like a half-baked experiment. It is a dark and sombre movie set in a single night around three characters.

Ayesha (Neha Dhupia) is a woman haunted by the memories of her past. In the times of riots she was raped by a doctor in a relief camp for three days. She was blindfolded and could not see the rapist.

Ayesha

carries the psychological and emotional scars of that incident even after her marriage to her husband Javed Sheikh (Sachin Khedekar). Javed is a magazine editor. He is also the chairman of the commission investigating the riots.

One fateful night, Javed comes home with a doctor named Vishwas (Sonu Sood). As Ayesha observes the way the doctor talks, smokes and behaves, she starts believing that he is the man who raped her. She knows the rapist’s body odour. And she smells that in Dr. Vishwas.

Determined for retribution, Ayesha confronts the doc with a gun, subjugates him and demands a confession. But the doc denies that he ever raped her.

Is Ayesha right in her judgment? Will her husband support her in her act of revenge?

The story of Siskiyaan is not an uninteresting one. Only it begins to drag in the second half when the movie becomes too much dialogue oriented. Also the movie’s setting, a secluded house, looks more theatrical and less real.

There are some strong points to the movie. But they are few and far between to keep a viewer glued throughout.

One strong point is Neha Dhupia, who shows remarkable growth as an actress. The way she stares in the mirrors, the desensitized, blown-out expressions on her face and her vitriolic outburst towards the end – all lend credibility to her character Ayesha, a rape victim seeking revenge and justice.

Another positive point is the background score and the absence of any unnecessary songs. The movie has just one track, sung by Bhupinder.

But the biggest flaw is that not many viewers would be able to relate to the story and some may even find it sad and depressing.

Also there are portions in the movie that are quite boring. Like the sequence about Ayesha’s husband heading the committee to inspect the riots. And the story seems to stand still at the point when Ayesha repeatedly demands confessions from the doctor, but he keeps denying.

Sonu Sood as the hapless doctor is convincing only in certain portions. Sachin Khedekar, as usual, proves to be a dependable actor. He doesn’t dominate the proceedings, but still makes an impact.

Siskiyaan director Ashwini Chaudhary has chosen an offbeat subject. His cinematic execution is deft at times, but a few good assorted sequences don’t make a gripping movie.

In short, Siskiyaan has little entertainment to offer. It is based on a serious story that may not appeal to many. It leaves you with a vacuous and sullen mood.

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