The famous Bhatts of Bollywood have spoken rather bombastically about their movie Nazar. It has been hailed as the first Indo-Pak joint movie venture in 50 years. The film introduces Pakistani actress Meera to Bollywood and it also featured a kissing scene (now deleted) that became the eye of the controversy storm raged by many moralists in the actress' country.
But after seeing the movie you just wish that if a milestone was indeed to be laid in the cultural exchange between the two nations, it ought to have been done with a movie better than what Nazar ends up being.
Nazar begins with an MTV style song showing Meera dancing along a scenic beach. CUT! And you realize that the song was a music video being shot on a stage performer/actress Divya (Meera).
From the start you notice a strange aura surrounding Divya's personality. She is a girl who has lived a secluded life after the death of her parents in a car crash.
Anyway, after wrapping up the shooting of the video, Divya decides to drive back to Mumbai, despite the dark night. On her way back, a strange incident takes place that changes her life forever.
From then on, Divya begins to have visions from the future. And mind it, while clairvoyance can be a blessing for some, it becomes just like a curse for Divya because all she sees from the future is nothing but acts of brutal murders - nubile dance-bar girls being stabbed, strangulated, suffocated to death by a killer whose face continues to elude Divya's clairvoyance.
In comes a cop, Rohan (Ashmit Patel), a Special Investigating officer who looks more like a ramp dude than a cop. He is investigating the murders of bargirls in the city. A serial killer is on the loose and Rohan has the case to nab him.
Rohan buys Divya's story (about her visions of murders) but his female assistant (Koel Purie) does not. Taking help of Divya's clairvoyance, he begins to zero down on prime suspects that include a doctor, a fugitive and an eccentric-alcoholic uncle who frequents bars regularly.
As the story moves(?) forward, Divya has the most startling vision. She is the next one on the killer's list.
Nazar could have been a gripping thriller, had it not been for the shoddy screenplay, the appalling climax and the misplacement of songs.
When a movie bears the 'Bhatt' tag, a little bit of titillation is guaranteed. Nothing wrong with it, but it comes at such a point in the movie that it takes the steam away from the plot. Sample this: a song showing Meera and Ashmit getting intimate under a waterfall comes when it has been clearly established that their lives are in danger.
Meera impresses with her acting in the movie. She carries the right body language and gives off the required facial expressions. So what if she hasn't dubbed her dialogues for the movie.
Ashmit Patel needs to go back to the acting school. His performance is 'affected'. He tries hard to bring some intensity in his character and in doing so he only makes a spectacle of himself with his constant hamming.
Of course, some slack needs to be cut for Soni Razdan as it is her maiden directorial attempt.
All in all, Nazar starts off quite well and keeps your interest alive with unexpected twists and turns. But when the motive behind the murders is revealed, you are just left with your mouth agape. The motive is just not convincing and makes you wonder at the lack of creative imagination on the part of the movie's storywriter.
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