Where There
Is a Villain,There Is a Way
Film: Ek
Villain
Cast:
Siddharth Malhotra, Riteish Deshmukh, Shraddha Kapoor
Directed by:
Mohit Suri
Duration: 2
hrs 8 mins
Rating: * *
Directed by Mohit Suri, Ek Villain is a slightly frustrating
and exasperating experience. A blatant rip-off of the Kim Jee-Woon’s Korean
flick I Saw The Devil (2010), there
is way too much Bollywoodization of the script. This is not exactly a carbon
copy but a true copy all the same, albeit unattested.
Written by Tushar Hirandani with some very heavy duty
dialogues by Milap Zaveri, had they stuck closer to the original film, it would
have been more appealing but all the romance and not to mention the songs that
pop up makes it look like you were watching an extended version of Aashiqui 2.
Just minutes into the film, we see a murder being committed.
Aisha (Shraddha Kapoor) is thrown off a building by a man in a trench coat
(Riteish Deshmukh) and his identity is revealed right away. Never mind that
later, when couple of other characters fall from the same place, they have
minor injuries, that can fixed with some Dettol and Band Aid strips.
Anyway, in flashback we are told that the girl’s hubby Guru
(Siddharth Malhotra) was a hit man in Goa who has a change of heart after he
meets her. A traumatic childhood was responsible for his explosive nature and
he was rescued by a don (Remo). The murderer meanwhile is a telephone linesman
who can’t speak up for himself when others yell at him, including his wife who
keeps taunting him.
He gets even with them with a screw driver, no, not the
drink.
If you think the second half will turn into a taut thriller,
then you are as wrong as the man from the MET office.
Another disappointment is the way the film is structured. It
gives you the impression that there is a pay off at some point but that never
happens. Take the Narkasur scene for
instance, it is made to look as if it is an important plot point and shot
stylishly but has precious little relevant connection with the story.
Flashbacks are overused and the audience is fed with all
possible information instead of letting them work it out themselves. As for the
dialogues, the young man holds his girlfriends hand while the train is pulling
out of the station at considerable speed and delivers lines like “Mera haath thaam lo aur mujhe andhere se
ujaale mein le chalo” (Take my hand and lead me from darkness into light),
Oh please!
You feel sorry for Mohit Suri, he seems to have given his
best shot to a muddled screenplay.
Siddharth Malhotra and Shraddha Kapoor are competent on the
acting front but it is Riteish Deshmukh who pulls up a surprise. We know that
he has a knack for comedy but he pulls off this role as well with admiration.
Like most plagiarized films, Ek Villain also misses bull’s
eye.
Published in The Navhind Times on 29th June 2014
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