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Naqaab
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'Naqaab' - Can be seen once

By Nikhil Kumar
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

To call ‘Naqaab’ ‘The Most Shocking Thriller Of The Year’ (as its tagline says) would be a gross overstatement. Without exaggeration, the movie can be described as an engaging romantic thriller revolving around characters with disguised intentions.

For years, director duo Abbas-Mastan have honed their skills of making thrillers through movies like Baazigar, Ajnabee and Humraaz . Their latest work, ‘Naqaab’ is nowhere near their previous thrillers in which suspense came out like a bolt from the blue.

In

‘Naqaab’, one part of the suspense is not hard to guess. But there are many twists and turns before the film’s climax. The unmasking of the secret is indeed unexpected, but it lacks enough conviction. If the movie’s plot has ample knots and tangles, it also has its holes.

To cut to the chase, ‘Naqaab’ isn’t exactly a nail-biting, edge-of-the-seat experience. It is a fairly decent thriller you wouldn’t mind watching once.

The movie brings together the ‘Humraaz’ team of Akshaye Khanna and Bobby Deol .

Bobby plays a millionaire, Karan, in love with a middle-class girl Sophie ( Urvashi Sharma ) who, despite her rich boyfriend, works in a burger joint. Enters Vicky (Akshaye Khanna), a struggling actor out of work. Vicky’s charm, charisma and eloquence wins the affection of Sophie. Sparks fly, and the two find getting drawn towards each other.

Hidden from all this, there is someone who is watching and filming the three characters.

As the love story gets more complex and contrived, hidden intentions of the characters are unmasked.

The first half of the movie is breezy but clichéd. Story picks up just before the interval and from there on it develops in the second half. There are surprising revelations and interesting bends in the plot. The director duo have tried to add the shock element with force, rather than wit. And there is too much beating around the bush before coming to the point in the climax.

Among performances, Akshaye Khanna’s stands out most prominently. His chemistry with Urvashi is superb. Bobby Deol manages his part well but offers nothing impressionable. Newcomer Urvashi Sharma acts as if she has the experience of many films behind her. She is comfortable and confident in playing her part before the camera.

The film’s cinematography is gripping and its editing is slick. Pritam’s music is passable.

Abbas-Mastan’s direction is tight and there are indeed sequences in the film that pump your adrenalin. But the director duo fail to create the hard-hitting impact in the second half, despite the twists and turns.

To sum it up, ‘Naqaab’ doesn’t turn out to be a riveting thriller, but it is engaging enough to be seen once.

Rating: **1/2

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