Ankahee

I went to watch Ankahee with zero expectations. Vikram Bhatt is a director who hardly ever did a good film, and barring a few exceptions, most of his films are poor and unoriginal. But somehow I found Ankahee watchable despite the poor writing. The film deals with such issues as adultery and depression, and it might not be convincing, but somewhat enjoyable. Esha Deol stars as a beauty pageant who has an affair with a married man played by Aftab Shivdasani. First, with all due respect, Deol is far from having the looks of a beauty pageant. In fact, she is not half as beautiful as her mother Hema Malini. Having said that, she performed passionately throughout the film and her wide eyes conveyed the emptiness and the frustration of a woman suffering from manic depression. Aftab Shivdasani was decent as the confused man who lacks character. Amisha Patel was convincing and played the wronged but strong wife with sincerity and depth. This may be her most (or should I say only) solid performance since Gaddar. Technically, Ankahee is well-made. The story was quite good and the proceedings were dark and serious, albeit a bit confused and slow. The ending is strange and funny, but nevertheless, this is a decent fare which can be watched with family and friends.

Yes, the title stands true. I watched this movie with friends. One of them watched till half-time, and went back to catch up on sleep. The rest of us stayed on. It was painfully slow from around 15%th to the 50%th point. Long dialogue sequences. Overacting. And the most annoying thing -- Aftab's inability to converse (especially arguments) without moving this hands in air as in sword-fighting. If he had a sword in his hands, he'd have cut both Ameesha Patel and Esha into million pieces each.

The second half was a respite. Story picked up pace. But now it went into the well-beaten track of Bollywood (won't reveal that in the review, but it's obvious from film's theme). Very much predictable.

Positives: 1. Ameesha Patel looked nice. 2. The movie starts off with an old-age Aftab lying in bed. The portrayal is funny. All us friends went into a laughter spree.

Negatives: 1. Oft-repeated theme. Too predictable. 2. Aftab's lack of dialogue-delivery abilities. 3. Esha looked horrible in most parts of the movie.

This movie is not at all convincing.. How can a reputed surgeon - who is a loving husband and a doting father - can fall in love with a patient with manic depression? He should have treated her as his patient and tried to help her out of her psychological disorder. Even his fellow psychiatrist friend warns him about her.. In spite of all this he falls in love with her and divorces his loving wife and leaves her and his daughter whom he loves very much... Very much unconvincing... Acting wise Aftab Shivadasani is as unconvincing as his role..Ameesha Patel is OK.. There is not much scope for her in this movie. Only Esha Deol is the saving grace. She has portrayed her role as a manic depressed beauty queen very convincingly.. Hrishita Bhatt is wasted in a miniscule role..

I was dragged into this movie by my mom and sister and i expected total C*&p and let me tell you i got exactly that.

Having a positive attitude i will list only 3 atrocities this movie has committed(if i list all ill need a few days emotional support) and then focus on the good parts:-

1) The movie had absolutely the most horrible cast in recent years. Aftab Shivdasani looked young out of place and displayed no acting talent his range of facial expressions and emotions consisted of two looks both of which were similar to confused and can be best described as disaster. His chemistry with the actresses was as bad as can get and was non existent. Esha Deol looked bad and struggled to play her role her acting talent is not far behind Aftab's and in certain scenes she almost scared us with her hideous makeup and facial expressions. Amisha Patel who I'm sure did this role because she is Vikram bhatts new girlfriend again looked completely out of place and looked straight out off Ekta Kapoors serial with here coloured hair, saree and mangalsutra(gimme a break).

2)The story held some promise but instead the Vikram only concentrated on one stupid scene to the other making sure it looks like he is the sufferer while the other woman is the culprit. He excessively demonizes the character ( who i believe is based on Sushmita Sen) and forgets that there i story. The movie offers no explanation for the events that unfold especially disturbing is that we are yet not aware why Aftab fell for Esha in the first place.

3) The songs are lack lustre and as usual serve as further torture in this long and boring movie. The ample time one gets is more than enough to focus on the other bad parts about the movie. For instance how the hell did Esha still be alive and kicking a few hours after she swallowed a whole bottle of sleeping pills. What kind of doctor is Aftab anyway…..why the hell did he fall for Esha in the first place…………must stop, must not type more………….why is that AFTAB A VETERAN OF OVER TEN FILMS HAVE TO BE DUBBED BY SOMEONE WHO SOUNDS LIKE VIKRAM BHATT (what kind of actor is dubbed in his tenth film)………………must be strong must stop complaining………………………..

As promised now for the good parts (yes there are a few):- 1)The trauma that the child from the broken family goes through though over exaggerated actually makes you feel for the children of broken families especially when one of the parents has had a much publicised affair. 2) There is a scene in the movie where the long corridor effectively captures the distance in the relation between the 2 people and that they are about to split. 3) There are actually nearly 2 dialogues that I liked in this movie which I hope will appear in the quotes section soon.

All this occupies 5 minutes of the movie so nows the ONLY REASON one my watch this movie:- If you are the gossip and scandal loving person who is filled by a burning curiosity to learn Vikram Bhatt's version of his affair with Sushmita Sen and how she is actually supposed to be suicidal, alone , insecure etc etc then this movie will more then give you enough scoop. The signs are all there the Miss World, the large diamond ring she always wore, the famous Sushmita victory photo, the hair etc etc. This seems to be the only reason this movie was made .

The only other reason would be if someone dragged you along like I was or a large sum of money.

All in a pathetic movie that provides no entertainment except to a narrow section of society.

Ps I just heard that due to the negative reactions from audiences and film fraternity alike Vikram Bhatt is now claiming that this movie is in fact not about Sushmita. Too late Mr. Bhatt…..so Sushmita used to cut her wrists you say………hmmm

It has to be Vikram Bhatt's best film, Aftab's & Esha's acting was excellent. I felt really sorry for Esha although she was dangerous & obsessive especially when she was crying in the hospital. The story is about Aftab who is a doctor and is happy with his married life with Amista Patel but unfortunately an actress & miss world came into his hospital after a failed suicide attempt. Aftab was taking care of her and told the media "It was just an accident". Eventually they both fell in love with each other and that's where they all start to have major problems. The film contains every emotion, its low budget and music is very heartfelt.