Before I say anything judgemental about the movie, I would
want to make a statement, “This man, Aamir Khan, can make any movie wonderful, or
rather his own.” I am dumbfounded.
From a troubled cop seeing spirits to a young college guy, Aamir can play anything.
The icing on the cake being, he does it all with panache!
Talaash, a suspense thriller with an intriguing storyline and
brilliant performances(I ain’t talking only about Aamir Khan here, everyone’s
acting was top-notch), makes it a complete worth of a watch. The tone of the
movie sets in right through the beginning, the lighting completely complementing
each and every scene from the start till the end. You wouldn’t once say, it was
a ‘dark’ movie despite it being a murder mystery. The music is okay, you might
hum along but it isn’t the “playing-on-loop” material. And honestly, I loved
Kareena’s makeup, especially her eye makeup.(Yes, I notice makeup even when the
movie is super interesting!)
As far as the “plot” is concerned, I agree, it is extremely
hard to devise a story like this and
still manage to keep the audience hooked and wanting for more. But Reema
Kagti(director) has pulled it off very well, considering it’s the Bollywood audience
that was being targeted primarily. In one word, NEAT. That said and done, the bummer
is that the movie becomes really predictable after a point of time(which
clearly is way before the movie ends.) Okay, to me it was Kareena who gave it
away, but I hung on till the last just to see if there would be an anti-climax,
which did not happen. But the ending is totally heart wrenching. It twists up
your soul, and a tear or two might trickle down your eyes, but you feel a pang of
happiness too. Like the “all is well that ends well” way, which makes up for
not meeting the expectation. So yes, you don’t get to see a climax that would
make your eyes pop out or your jaws drop,(umm, too much of ‘Tom n Jerry’ness?), but you do get to see a good amount of the
typical Bollywood masala thrown into the movie which might want to make you scream,
“Fast forward please!” but then you realise it’s a Bollywood flick, after all.
Yes, I’m talking about those clichéd super slow motion underwater scenes (Aamir
and Kareena obviously) which weren’t just surreal but also annoying since it looked
as though it would go on forever.
All that apart, I even found the movie a little vague in
just some parts. How could no one notice the exact similar bag( yup, big blue
kit bag) filled with a stash of currency notes in it with another person?
Especially when the cops(?) were on the prowl of ‘the’ bag. And the woman(I
keep forgetting her name) sheds just a few tears and moves on with all the cash
of course with a look on her face which pretty much conveyed Tahmur(Nawazuddin Siddiqui) would never come back and
she was on her own . Okay, don’t shoot me, I am quite a feminist when it
comes to things like this, and I know
‘moving on’ is the best thing anyone can do given the circumstances, but this
came across as ‘just too quick’. Or maybe it was just me.
Now, here comes the part I really, completely loved – the auto-writing
part of it. (For those of all who don’t know what auto-writing is, click HERE).
Okay, it was what Frenny(Shernaz Patel) did – connecting with the spirits, taking
down notes exactly the way the spirits tell you. The whole thing of
incorporating auto-writing with the theme of the movie was delightful. The
perfect blend of the supernatural and reality is what makes the movie such an
amazing one. You don’t even feel like mulling over the small little issues in
the movie, since the bigger picture is so much better.
On a more subjective level, ‘Talaash’ as the name says is
all about a ‘search’, a search for the soul, where Karma plays a huge role. Whatever people say, no matter what you
believe in, there is something called ‘destiny’ which will lead you throughout.
There can be things which you feel are bizarre, but you might end up having to
deal with it. You might think you can get away with things you do when no one’s
watching, but you never know what your fate holds for you. And sometimes your
life changes in a blink of an eye. It all matters on how you cope with it. And coping needs ‘soul searching’, or maybe I should call it, ‘delving into the soul’.
As the subtitle says, “the answers lie within”.
RATING: 3.9/5 (-1.1 just because I found the movie predictable. and 3 on it just for Aamir!)
FINAL WORDS: A must watch! :)
Love,
Love,
Dhriti.