Why Cheat India review :
From smooching his female co-stars in erotic thrillers to now fixing post graduate exams, Emraan Hashmi has come a long way. His acting has tremendously improved with time and so has his choice of picking scripts. No more Murders and Zehers for him, thank you!!
At concept level, Why Cheat India offers an interesting perspective in to the widely perpetuated exam scams across India. Unfortunately, it doesn't translate in to a consistently engaging cinema.
Emraan plays Rakesh Singh, a Robinhood of sorts, who hires financially poor exam toppers to appear proxy for rich duds in the examinations. "Akalmand toh tum ho; nakalmand banoge ki nahi", he lures one such topper Sattu (Snighadeep Chatterjee) on to his payroll.
Sattu falls for the quick buck and his didi Nupur (Shreya Dhanwanthary) falls for apna Rakesh Bhai. So far so good.
Post interval, the film shifts from the small towns of Uttar Pradesh to aamchi Mumbai and degenerates in to multiple sub plots - drugs, sex, badla, dhoka...anything and everything is crammed in to the narrative while losing focus of its core theme.
It's here that the film's pace dips and dithers and a couple of situations appear confusing. Worse, the climax actually appears to encourage cheating and indulging in fraudulent practices. Maybe the reason our already conservative censors ordered a 'Why' to be added to the films title...
On the positive, the entire real life paper leak scam where answers were verbally provided in a crowded conference hall is well recreated. So is the deep political nexus behind it. That ten minute sequence is a revelation, no doubt.
Of the cast, Shreya Dhanwantary, playing Emraan's love interest, not only looks charming but also pitches in a sincere performance. And yes, Emraan bhai gets his mandatory lip-lock with her. To please his single screen fans. Oh well!
The technical aspects are strictly satisfactory - Not that great but no eeks either. Bappi Lahiri's 'Dil Mein Ho Tum' song from Vinod Khanna starrer 'Satyamev Jayate' (1987) is recreated in an average music score.
Finally, Emraan Hashmi is the film's biggest draw and he expectedly delivers a competent act. Unfortunately, 'Cheat India' gives him only a pass class. No distinction. You know 'Why'...
Regards,
Sumeet Nadkarni.
