Creative Quotient
If a classic were retold so shoddily, the storyteller ought to be banned for ever. Sadly, nothing can be done to writer-director Ananth Mahadevan for criminal wastage of producer’s funds. He rewinds to Daphne Du Maurier’s classic Rebecca and makes a royal mess of it. A wealthy Rajasthani hotelier Vikram Sisodia (Dino Morea) on his business trip to Mumbai falls in love with his escort Jiah (Minissha), woos her, marries her and takes her back to his sprawling palace back home in rural Gajner. Malini (Koena Mitra), the architect transforming the palace into a tourist resort, also the unofficial companion for the new bride. Somehow, Jiah is unable to put her predecessor’s ghost at peace - the dead wife - Anamika keeps revisiting her through strong memories of the domestic staff as well as the monogrammed stationery and table linen. The story drones monotonously through sand dunes, rambling grounds and a local looney (Vishwajeet Pradhan). The story comes to a standstill in Gajner till the end!!
Technical expertise
Royal locations, designer costumes and great production values do not help the film much. It is evident that Mahadevan has taken the producer for a royal ride. To the credit of the director, the casting of Achint Kaur as Dino’s elder sister is interesting. Minissha has a plum role and she slips into it easily, Koena with her redone lips no longer cuts a pretty picture, Dino tries hard to play the troubled husband and his sincerity is touching. Anu Malik’s music in Shagufta dil makes for pleasant listening. But on the whole, Mahadevan’s served a turkey yet again.
Verdict
The sole star is for the producer for providing the director with everything - even taking the unit all the way to Thailand for a song!