Aetbaar

Movies are influenced not copied and in this case, well influenced and directed. John Abaraham debuted in "Jism" and it is amazing how far he has come in span of few movies. In "Jism" he was wooden, here he has great depth and range almost matching the Veteran Bachchan. Hindi movies have been dominated by actors like SRK, Salman Khan who have neither the looks nor the depth to portray the diversity required for an actor. Last decade the Indian Cinema has been cheated,orphaned and greatly deprived of this diversity-in the younger set-where as we always had feast from the older actors like Bachchan, Patekar, Om Puri, Amrish Puri-just to name a few. Actors like John Abraham are filling this gap and Actors like him have heightened interest in the otherwise dormant Hindi Cinema. The movie showcases incredible dueling between Abraham (Aryan) Bachchan (Doctor Trivedi) and his daughter (Bipasa Basu). Bachchan is indisputable Icon who has a commanding presence in any scene in any angle-a born actor like Pacino-where as Bipasha most of the time looks like she is hiding a secret (seductively I may add), but she does emote well when called for,unlike actors in her class Ash Rai; who looks good but the woman cannot act period-which can be a handicap for a director the caliber of Vikram Bhat.

"Aetbaar" is a thriller revolving around a psychopath who gets obsessed to a doctor's daughter amid the doctor's plight to get his daughter out of his vicious obsession. Burrowing its plot from a Hollywood caper "Fear" (1996), the film though grips at instances is muddled and hackneyed on a whole and fizzles for the cheaper cliches by the end, along the poor performances from John Abraham and Bipasa Basu, added the annoying dubbed voice for John Abraham. If any, the saving grace of the film remains the superb screen presence of Amitabh Bachchan as a protective father, who has lost his son in an accident and his college going daughter is stalked by a psychopath, in which he steals the show.

Rating: 1 star out of 4

This movie does keep you watching. Unlike the typical bollywood movie, the story moves along rapidly in this one. So even though you can predict exactly what's coming next, while the traditional Hindi movie takes its sweet old time in getting there, this one gets right to the point.

The story was quite unrealistic. I don't mean the premise, as that in fact was a pretty good one. However, the way the story unfolded was quite far-fetched and worthy of a cheap horror novel. Amitabh Bachchan gave a strong performance as always but the rest of the cast can't act at all. Moreover, the characters of Ria and her mother were unintelligent to an extreme. Especially the mother... I know they wanted to established that Amitabh as the father was the head of the household, but having the mother's character be this useless is well, quite useless.

The only positive thing I can say about this movie was the looming dark feel it had to it. I haven't seen this in a Hindi movie since Aks and Sangharsh. This gloomy, evil, dark, helpless, "feel something in your stomach" shade is rarely seen in bollywood, and perhaps writers and directors need to explore it a little more. It works wonders in Hollywood, so why not bring it home? They bring everything else home don't they?

Perhaps I'm being too critical. Perhaps the movie was only meant to be as good as it ended up being. All in all, not worth it. 4.5/10

This movie had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Not only did the sinister part hold my attention but also the loving devotion which the father had for his daughter. This movie is a must see! This film knocks down the familiar stereotypes which some may have of Indian parents, because we see love and devotion all the way. Also, the actors in this movie did a wonderful job. It's clear that this film was geared towards the father as the main focus, showing how he takes charge and protects his family when the need arises. After watching this movie I couldn't help but run into my father's arms to simply say, "thanks for everything!" Please give this incredible movie a try!

Not sure if it was worth that poor a box office reception