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Nishabd
indya.com rating: 2.5 out of 5
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Ali Khan, Revathi, Nasser, Aftab Shivdasani (Sp. App).
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Synopsis: The film begins with Vijay (Bachchan) standing at the edge of a cliff attempting suicide. In the following scene, he is shown talking to the audience (but in fact he is talking to one of film's characters who is not shown in the frame) about what led him to taking this extreme step.
Vijay's daughter Ritu (Shraddha Arya) had come home for vacations with a college friend Jiah (Jiah Khan). Jiah, who belongs to a broken family, is a little different from other girls of her age. Vijay is a photographer by profession and Jiah takes active interest in learning the art of photography from him. He clicks her playing in the water getting all wet and as time passes, their friendship begins to grow. Once when Ritu meets with a freak accident, she requests her dad to take Jiah out sight seeing. It is during this trip that Jiah tries taking this 'fatal attraction' between them a step further.
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She openly expresses her fondness for Vijay despite him being old enough to be her father. He initially resents but certain questions posed by Jiah are enough for him to have a change of heart. However, his daughter comes to know of their relationship and ends up having a nervous breakdown. At around the same time, her uncle Sridhar (Nasser) comes down to stay with them. Ritu spills the beans to him after which Sridhar confronts Vijay, who confesses that he is in love with Jiah. And then all hell breaks loose when Vijay discloses his feeling for Jiah to his wife Amruta (Revathi). The rest of the film deals with how Amitabh handles the tricky situation.
Acting: Amitabh Bachchan yet again triumphs in a highly challenging role. He lends the character a certain dignity - so much so that one can't think of Vijay as a pervert. He is splendid in scenes with Jiah while his transformation from a serious father to one falling in love with someone of her daughter's age and finally his despairing experiences are mind blowing. Newcomer Jiah fits the bill and is a complete natural. She shows confidence standing up to Big B which is not the easiest thing to do. Revathi as the typical Indian house wife is good and her reactions to Jiah's antics are sure to bring some cheer to the audiences. South Indian actor Nasser is fine while Shraddha Arya too plays her part well.
indya.com rating: 3 out of 5
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Direction: To his credit, Ram Gopal Varma does not waste time in beating around the bush and comes straight to point as the film begins. The pace of the film moves at a break neck speed in the first half but slackens in the second as director has nothing much to say. He drops hints at a sexual attraction angle between the 'odd' couple but avoids falling into that trap barring a fleeting smooch between Jiah and Big B which is greeted by wolf whistles from the audience. Unfortunately, the film ends abruptly and one keeps wishing that the director had something more to say. Or had he gone nishabd himself by the time the film was approaching the climax?
Indya.com rating: 2 out of 5
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Script: Kusum Punjabi's script is not completely original and takes cues from Nabokov's Lolita, American Beauty (1999) and Poison Ivy (1992). Traditional Indian audiences will not identify with the basic plot of a 60 plus man falling for a girl his daughter's age. The events unfold quickly till the interval but once Big B and Jiah's affair is revealed to the family members, the progress of the film simply halts. One starts getting restless with the slow pace. Yet there are some scenes that stand out. Bachchan trying to sing Jiya Jale Jaa Jale (Dil Se song) and when seen by his wife re-attempting it, still continuing to do so, Amitabh getting hysterical over the dinner table and unable to control his laughter for the next few hours and the initial scenes between Revathi and Jiah. Among the flaws in the script is Jiah's justification for her bold behaviour, her broken family, which isn't convincing. Also Aftab's character looks forced into the proceedings for convenience of the script, Amrik Gill's dialogues are good though. The line Take it light will catch on with the youngsters.
indya.com rating: 2 out of 5
Music: There are no songs in the film. The album has a good soulful number sung by Big B, Rozaana put to tune by Vishal Bharadwaj. The background music by Amar Mohile is good.
indya.com rating: 2 out of 5
-- Abhijit Mhamunkar
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