Shaitan (2011)

Good movie but grossly overrated

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Debutant director Bijoy Nambiar bravely treads a path that other debutant Hindi film directors steer clear of. Shot with style, 'Shaitan' is dark and twisted. Even though the story elements such as reckless teens causing a fatal road accident and teens staging their own kidnapping may have been used many times before in Hindi films. But, 'Shaitan' combines these with other story elements and does it with more grit and is given a unique treatment.The visuals look raw. The solid screenplay, sound effects and editing, the score which freshly and comically tributes many classic Hindi songs, the excellently choreographed action scenes and chase sequences create a tense atmosphere but one that is full of energy and adrenaline. Once the film gets going, especially after the accident sequence, there's always something happening on screen.Of the five actors who play the wild young friends, Kalki Koechlin stands out as the traumatized, disturbed and insensitive Amy. Rajeev Khandelwal is terrific as the no-nonsense copper determined to find Amy. Rajit Kapur and Pavan Malhotra provide great support. Rajat Barmecha makes a funny appearance.To say the least, 'Shaitan' is refreshing, dark, funny, gritty, gory and wicked. Anurag Kashyap has done it again and Bijoy Nambiar seems to be among the promising new directors of today.

First things first..Bejoy Nambiar does really good as the first time director of this dark and gritty fare. The cinematography, background music and chase scenes are done brilliantly. We have seen Mumbai's raw , unadulterated face exposed in several movies but that does not make it boring to watch, especially when done right.The cast , most of whom are first timers do a pretty decent job..some more than others. The introduction scenes explains the basics without spoon feeding the audience. Some scenes are cringe worthy and too stark but it warns the audience that this won't be a sugar coated anything movie.Even the storyline is interesting But..yes there is a but here.Had shaitan been released a couple of years back, there would not have been that many movies for a comparison. However ,as standards for Indian movies get higher, bolder and even deliciously original expectations increase. Shaitan has the right tone but the characterization falls flat..and takes the plot down with it..When the characters got introduced there seemed to be a pattern emerging..KC was the rich kid with an unexplained violent streak, Dash was the initiator who gave a damn about anyone, Neil was the timid one with secret desires , amy the crazy one with ideas and tania the follower..Once the movie progresses all characters go haywire...Dash sets the plan but cannot convince anyone of anything...Amy goes crazy purely on her own devices...and KC who is supposed to be mean and violent grows a conscience and becomes scared..the rest just bolt. Since the friendship doesn't go beyond merrymaking , the falling out holds no merit...The only character which remains true to its form ( mainly because it was one dimensional) is the cop's. The other characters in the movie are not too bad..I haven't watched Paanch but looking at some scenes on youtube, KK Menon's character seems scary , wild and completely unpredictable...That's not the case here..The Shakespearean darkness of plot..the sense of pure evil is actually missing in here...Instead there are 5 kids who are ordinary in extraordinary circumstances..maybe I am missing something...A little more shaitani and we would almost be there...

Truly speaking it's an upgraded version of Anurag Kashyap's own debut film made almost a decade back, which was banned by the censors. The film was titled "PAANCH" and it was also a story of 5 friends who find themselves in a fix due to some unforeseen circumstances. Interestingly it was supposed to be the debut movie of Tejasvini Kolhapure (Padmini Kohlapuri's sister) too. Written on the same theme SHAITAN also revolves around a group of 3 boys and 2 girls who suddenly get involved in a bloody accident killing two innocent men on the road. And then to save themselves from the Police they unwillingly have to make further plans which bring in more trouble for them. Apart from "Paanch" the main theme of the film also reminds you of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" (1997) and "Very Bad Things" (1998). It starts off well with a brilliant collage kind of first few minutes which has Anurag Kashyap stamp all over it along with the well composed and arranged background score. The first half an hour has got nothing much other than the introduction of its characters which makes the viewer a little restless to see something more thrilling happening on the screen. And then there comes the shocking accident which brings in the pace and in a few minutes the film gets converted into a bloody thrilling drama. But sadly, post intermission it all gets a little messy, lengthy and repetitive which even becomes tedious to watch till the end.No doubt, the debutant director Bejoy Nambiar proves his talent with a strong grip over the performances, camera angles and presentation of the movie. He shows a remarkable sense of shooting tense sequences and action packed chases with interesting musical tracks being played in the background. But as far as the content and plot is concerned he has nothing new to offer and also leaves too many loopholes in the script which could have been easily avoided.For instance, 1. There is no account of the 2 innocent people murdered in the accident in the whole film. 2. The dream scenes of Koechlin and her mother seem to be inserted deliberately to give it an artistic touch and for justifying the mysterious character of the girl which fail to make any kind of impact. 3. Post the kidnapping plan all the five friends keep wandering in the market and even go out for a movie in a theater, wearing white shinning sports shoes under their black burqas and no one ever suspects them. 4. The side track of Rajeev Khandelwal's broken marriage is neither interesting nor gels well with the theme of the film. Though the silent moments within the couple are well conceived, but the track could have been easily edited out to keep the duration short. 5. The attempted rape sequence of one of the girls again looks out of place, when in a very questionable scene (just before that) the girl is shown standing in the mid of a dark staircase with her revealing dress, a lighter and in a posture like a prostitute . 6. The film is quite long and becomes very tiring towards the climax. And supporting my observation I would like to mention, the voice I heard coming from my back in the hall, just before the climax, which said, "Arey Yeh Kab Khatam Hogi?"Performance wise, I found everyone putting their best but still not hitting the bull's eye due to the incomplete characterizations given to them by the writers. The whole cast is fine but somehow you can't relate to them while watching the film. Rajeev Khandelwal excels everyone else, in the role of a tough cop and is terrific, but still he doesn't come up as hard as it should be. Raj Kumar Yadav, of LSD and RAGINI fame, is once again very realistic and likable as the corrupt police official. Koechlin is improving with her each film and perfectly suits the role written for her, but it's high time she should come out of the image of a psycho person. Kirti as the second female lead looks beautiful but gets less scope in comparison. Out of the three boys, the best act comes from Gulshan Devaiya as KC followed by Shiv Pandit and Neil Boopalam. In the supporting case Pawan Malhotra & Rajit Kapur are just fine, Nikhil Chinnappa is hardly seen and Rukhsar successfully manages to catch your attention.The other worth mentioning merit of the movie apart from its impressive treatment and striking Cinematography, is its interesting Soundtrack including the background score. Although the film should have been a song less thriller, but still the intelligent use of the songs in the backdrop add a different perspective in its narration which really works.So, if only you are interested in watching a movie for its treatment, cinematography and few great chase sequences then do go for SHAITAN. But if you are an avid viewer of English Cinema then you may not find anything fresh in this over lengthy venture made on a seen before plot. To be straight, I only found one enjoyable scene in the film, when Rajeev simply kicks the auto-rickshaw and forcibly sits in after the driver refuses to go and that's it.

Shaitan speaks about the devil inside each of us, the devil who might take over us when we our own life is in trouble. It also speaks about the corrupt system, its flaws and the people who manipulate the system making use of their indecipherable power.The movie revolves around a group of five young troubled spoiled brats in Mumbai, who as usual have issues with their lives. Spiced up with some offensively witty scenes and dialogues, which is a good thing considering the plot of the movie, the movie is targeted towards the youth and does offer what any regular new age individual would look for in the movie. All the five lead actors seemed appropriate for their characters but for me Gulshan Devaiya as K.C. did a fabulous job among the five. Apart from him, Rajeev Khandelwal performed flawlessly in playing the role of a cop and I was immensely pleased to see Raj Kumar Yadav as a shady police officer. His part was short but he could not have done it better, in fact, he was the perfect choice for that character. But even though the flick was filled with good performances all around and even better direction, it lacked excitement. The whole dish didn't seem to tempt me anytime throughout the meal. It was predictable at times and the idea of rebellious spoiled brats is becoming stale now. This movie is definitely worth watching once or maybe twice for some people, but it is nothing extraordinary and didn't leave me wondering or wanting for more.