Ek Villain – Movie Review

“Sab mera mazaak udaate hain”, broods our serial killer in ‘Ek Villain’ and then goes on to murder women while telling them why he does so. An interesting trailer, fresh casting, nice music (read ‘Galliyan’) and smart marketing were good enough reasons for me to be keen on watching Director Mohit Suri’s first film outing outside his Uncle Bhatt’s Camp.   ‘Aashiqui 2’ wasn’t a great movie but it had a soul, moving performances from its lead cast and some very hummable tracks. Rightly then, you tend to expect something as good if not better when he comes up with his next especially because he has delivered some really good movies. But I was left disappointed.

Guru (Sidharth Malhotra) is a cold-blooded gangster who works for a don (Remo Fernandez) in Goa. Still haunted by a troubled past, he meets Aisha (Shraddha Kapoor); a complete opposite. He is the angry young man and she, the chatterbox full of life fulfilling her wishes one by one because she has little time to live. Predictably, they fall in love and get married. Guru is a changed man, one who cracks an interview (Who the hell selects a gangster? Is there anything called reference check in movies or was the interviewer a plain idiot?) and then calls his dear wife to inform. Instead, he gets to hear her scream for help as if shrieking when normal wasn’t enough. It’s a serial killer on the prowl and since he is one, he has to wear a black overcoat and carry a weapon- here, it’s a screwdriver! Scary… no? The murderer is a common lower middle-class man, Rakesh (Riteish Deshmukh) frustrated with his irritating wife (Aamna Sharif) whom he loves a lot and all he gets back is insult. A gore-less thrill-less rip-off of the Korean film ‘I Saw The Devil’, ‘Ek Villain’ is a love story which ends up as a revenge saga.

Suri is a competent story-teller, evident from his previous work (my picks would be ‘Woh Lamhe’, ‘Awarapan’ and ‘Aashiqui 2’) and he attempts the same style here as well by extracting decent performances from his cast. But he doesn’t quite manage to merge thrill with romance and in the process, we get an unconvincing love story and never a thriller. Even his ‘Murder 2’ shocked in parts but ‘Ek Villain’ doesn’t, except for the one scene in the first five minutes. The serial killer himself is too ordinary and simple to make a ruthless villain. It might have been a good idea if the director gave us a better characterization for this man and probably showed us more of the murders. Instead, he gives us a lovesick loser who wants to be a hero in the eyes of his nagging wife. He nearly weeps when she admits to the media that she loves him and asks him to come back home. Don’t forget he is a serial killer but in a hindi film and he couldn’t avoid the melodrama… could he? Even the love story between the leads lacks the romance and chemistry it should have. And then there are songs and even an item song by Prachi Desai. Music by Mithoon and Ankit Tiwari is just okay barring that nice track- ‘Galliyan’. Dialogues are a problem here. Some sound corny. This added with a few scenes are unintentionally funny. Last week’s release ‘Humshakals’ was a comedy intended to make us laugh; we hardly did. This one will make you laugh in parts but it wasn’t intended to. The movie drags and ends with a riveting climax but again, the way our villain is bumped off by a car is like one of those ‘Scary Movie’ scenes. Guess Suri wanted to convey that you pay for whatever you do; he just doesn’t get it right this time.

Sidharth Malhotra looks uncomfortable as the gangster but there is certain intensity in him which is missing in most of his contemporaries. He should work hard on his expressions though. The same is true for Shraddha Kapoor. There are scenes when you feel she is trying too hard to express the emotion. She continues to look fresh as ever but irritates like Asin in ‘Ghajini’, coming nowhere close to Kareena in ‘Jab We Met’. She could have just shut up a bit! So, it is Riteish Deshmukh who surprises in a serious role, mostly known for his comic timing. He makes you feel a little convinced about the character which in itself is an achievement. He expresses his mental state and brings out the peace on his face after a murder really well. Aamna Sharif is okay. I have no clue what must have been the intention behind casting Remo Fernandez and Kamaal Khan alias Deshdrohi.

Watch it or not: Yes… if you aren’t expecting much; also worth for Riteish Deshmukh’s performance.

At the Box-Office: It will start with a bang… one of the best openers and with mixed to good reviews, it should do well also keeping in mind the medium budget.

• About the Author

About Abhirup Dhar

I don't watch movies... I live them! Let me introduce myself. Abhirup Dhar was born in Kolkata and is still being brought up in India. A banker by profession, he is filmy to the core and is passionate about reviewing movies and writing. He likes to live on his own… he likes to be blunt, sarcastic, famous, infamous, confident, over-confident, moody at times… he likes to be himself. He is imperfect because perfection is boring. His love for movies dates back to his childhood days when he studied in a boarding school. A three-month Winter Vacation every year… and he made sure he watched as many movies then. Parents thought it was a phase... he knew it was Passion and he knew it back then itself. The craziness to watch movies on the Big Screen began during the last two years of school when he literally bunked to town so that he could catch up with the new Hindi Movie releases. Some thought he was plain crazy. He confirmed it was Passion... yet again. The hard fact is that not always can you walk a path you are passionate about. You have expectations to fulfill and Life to be made. But Life gives you chances and you have to grab them. So... here is he... your friendly critic who will be giving you his Verdict every week so that you can decide which release is worth your moolah and which is not! See you at the Movies! Stay connected at Facebook and Twitter!