Soch

Article Updated 08 December, 2002 05:00:40 PM IST

Soch

Soch marks the debut of yet another director Sushen Bhatnagar in Bollywood. His first ever movie is termed a psycho-thriller but in true sense, it is a poor film with no exciting narrative and gripping moments.

The story revolves around Raj Matthew (Sanjay Kapoor), his ex-actress wife Madhulika (Aditi Gowitrikar), a director called Priti Sardesai (Raveena Tandon) and a psychopath Om (Arbaaz Khan). Raj is a successful actor of the film industry and he is sought after by lots of women. Madhu is his wife who has left her career after making debut with a highly successful film, just because she loved Raj more than anything else. Raj also loves Madhu as mush as she loves him but this in not enough for the lady. One of the Raj’s friends is Priti, a happening filmmaker who is also a close friend of Raj. While they indeed share great chemistry and Priti loves Raj immensely, she also respects his marriage and has no wish to play the role of other woman in his life. Raj, on the other hand, considers her just a close buddy.

Though Madhu is furious about Raj’s closeness with Priti, things somehow keep moving until the day when Om enters their lives. He is a psychopath who has unsoluble differences with his father Nautiyal (Danny). Om wants to get rid of his father and when he realizes that Raj is fed up of his worsening relationship with Madhu, he gives him a deal: he will kill Madhu and in return, the actor will have to eliminate Om’s father. This conversation happens in a relaxed manner but even before Raj could take the stock, Madhu is killed. This comes, as a shock initially to Raj but now, it’s his turn to honor his commitment and kill Nautiyal. What happens next is...

Soch is conceived in the Alfred Hitchcock style where the suspense is unfolded first followed by showing of how criminal is booked by the law. In fact, a Hitchcock film Strangers On A Train of 1951 inspires the basic story line of the film. In practical, however, Sushen fails to do justice to the subject. He himself has written the film and it’s the poor narrative that begins hammering Soch’s prospects right from the beginning. Though the outline is fascinating, Sushen fails to weave similar screenplay around it. Even some of the principal characters, like Madhu’s, lack firm behavior and graph.

Let’s check some other examples as well. While Priti is supposed to be a director, she actually behaves like an actress in some parts. Aditi’s character is so lousy at places that it becomes difficult for the viewer to understand what she is up to. The director has also added some unwanted things like a comedy track and too many songs that breaks film’s pace almost every few minutes. On the continuity front, there are some slips that can be noticed as in case of a tattoo of Priti’s arm.

Of late, we are seeing that upcoming Bollywood directors, like of Danger, Vipul Amrutlal Shah of Aankhein and others have their own style of shot taking and Sushen too knows this job well. Cinematography by Rajan Kothari is outstanding at places. Editing by Umesh Gupta could have been tighter to make film shorter and in turn, more gripping. Dialogues by Atul Tiwari has spark to an extent. Background score by Sanjoy Choudhary deserves special mention.

Of the performances, Sanjay Kapoor is up to the mark and even shines in some scenes. Raveena Tandon too is good while Aditi tries to impress with her ravishing beauty instead of acting. Arbaaz Khan is above par and leaves his impact on the viewer’s mind. Danny is wasted and others pass the muster.

Directorially, Soch is an average fare from Sushen. Though he seems to have a great sense of picking up a subject to make a movie, he fails to deliver goods on the writing front. Soch is not an unavoidable spark on the screen.

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