This Bollywood movie that was released more than a year back caught my attention because of director Bejoy Nambiar who is about to test Kollywood waters soon through his bilingual, ‘David’. So I made it a point to watch this flick that marked his debut and more than anything I stumbled upon some rave reviews about the film prior to watching it!!
Shaitan narrates the story about a group of laid-back youngsters who get caught in a quagmire wherein they try to play a ransom game with their parents in order to get out of the quagmire. In the process, they lose out badly and pay a hefty price. The story also leans on the vulnerabilities in our ever tainted law and order system and its ridiculously obvious loopholes that time and again has been proved ineffective in order to tackle the contemporary forms of crime.
Hats-off to Bejoy’s refreshing presentation. The way he established each character and the chemistry between them had to be lauded. He took his own sweet time to narrate a character’s background and added a certain color to it which paid off well in the latter half when the respective characters attain their peak in order to tie the loose ends. Also the dialogs were penned with an element of satire that helped in defining the features of a particular character!
Though there were a number of characters, the ease with which every character was handled, went a long way in binding the film together and making it a grippy affair. The characters were neither painted in black nor in white, but each one had a unique color whose name was unknown, but the color can be enjoyed on screen. The casting department has to be appreciated for this and a keen eye for detail during casting.
Rajeev Khandelwal as the ‘dirty harry cop’ was riveting. He expressed his anger, angst and inability to mend the system through his violent acts. At the same time he acted with dexterity and called the shots when the situation demanded him to use his brains more than his brawn.
The 5 member youngster squad consisting of Kalki, Shiv, Neil, Gulshan and Kirti were an interesting lot who could be related by any upmarket spoilt brat from cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore or Chennai.
Music and BGM by the 4 member squad of Prashnat, Amar, Ranjit and Anupam gelled well with the narrative and helped establish the plot convincingly. The songs were used in montages and that gave the film a grand and urban appeal.
Cinematography by Madhi, the man from Kollywood, has surely made a mark with this movie with an amazing piece of work. The angles were unique and shots were terrific and helped largely etching the frames with conviction.
Editing by Sreekar Prasad, the veteran technician was top class. He made the story move at a rapid pace and the cuts were of international standard.
One of the biggest downsides that I saw was in the plot that takes place in the second half, wherein the characters were just shown to chill out for a while even after knowing that they were in deep shit. Also certain plot turning points appeared sudden, as if they were pushed into the narrative in order to create a ripple or two.
The movie can be definitely classified as a one time watch for its fresh presentation and the content.
Verdict: Good!
Rating: 3/5
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