7 Khoon Maaf

The task is daunting but has to be done, some like Vishal Bharadwaj are in the league of fearless men who direct movies that have something new. Un... read more

The task is daunting but has to be done, some like Vishal Bharadwaj are in the league of fearless men who direct movies that have something new. Unfazed by the public reaction he still takes this task of again remaking a famous writer's piece of literature into a good and watchable movie. The director this time chose Ruskin Bond's short story, Susanna's Seven Husbands and made it into a celluloid for the weekend movie buffs. Hence the task of re-writing a short story into a full length movie may be a difficult one, but as said in the first life, the director is fearless. Our leading lady is wooed not one not two but none the less seven times, yes seven times in her search of love but still doesn't find it.
Beautiful and spirited Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes played by Priyanka Chopra playes roles from a 20 to a 65 year old in this movie and followed by a line of husbands which unfortunately do not fit her bill of the love of her life and thus die form her hands. Her husbands include Major Edwin Rodriques played by Neil Nitin Mukesh, Jimmy Stetson the singer played by John Abraham, Urdu poet Wasiullah Khan played by Irrfan Khan, Moscow resident Nicolai Vronsky played by newbie Aleksandr Dyachenko, police officer Keemat Lal played by Anu Kapoor, sixth one would be Naseeruddin Shah as Doctor Modhusudhon Tarafdar and a surprise last one.
The narrator is none other than Vivaan Shah as Arun and for those who are not familiar with the name hes the son of veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah. And as the husbands come and go in our leading ladys life she after some times considered a prime suspect in their deaths. Characters are well established and no time is wasted in other shots but concentration is clearly on the cast and the story. Although a good attempt by Priyanka in performing roles that make her play roles over different ages, songs like Darling and Bekaraan are peppy but dont stay long on the viewers mind. All in all an ok attempt on a much-hyped movie.
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I sense a pattern in Vishal Bhardwaj. His women are definitely getting deadlier. From docile Dolly (Omkara), he upgraded to belligerent Sweety (Kam... read more

I sense a pattern in Vishal Bhardwaj. His women are definitely getting deadlier. From docile Dolly (Omkara), he upgraded to belligerent Sweety (Kaminey), who later made way for seductive and lethal Krishna (Ishqiya), he has finally broken all barriers with the Sexy Susanna, who plays a temptress and murderer with tremendous ease.

7 Khoon Maaf is a dark film with a great starcast: with husbands like Naseeruddin Shah and Irrfan and a leading lady as versatile and sultry as PC, it can be safely said that Bhardwaj has managed to rope in some of the most dependable names in Bollywood. The acting and the dialogues are top notch too: the side cast delivers sparkling performances from the first husband itself (Goonga and the Butler). However there is an inkling that something is wrong. Here's what.

1) Susanna gets justification for all her sins: Her husbands are either addicts or possessive, sado-masochistic or plain horny. What would have been delightful was to watch her go at it for pure fun.
2) While 6 husbands were identifiable in the promos and the story evident, all the fun lied with the discovery of the 7th husband and the killing. There was so much that could have been accomplished with this loose end, but the author chose a safe ending.
3) The backstory behind each husband is not well defined: Neil Nitin Mukesh gets a huge chunk of screentime, probably because he looks dapper with his cropped hairdo and moustache. Same is the case with John Abraham. However, as the film moves on, I was simply trying to keep count of the murders and not paying any attention to the story.
4) The songs. 'Darling' and 'Dil Hai' create an impact, but the rest are bland and dont add to the dish being served.

7KM is a good film, but still not rounded up properly, leading to a little less than desired outcome. Clearly it is not the Director's best, but only because I have set the bar quite high for him. As an independent film, it is a great watch: Priyanka's transitions from a 20 year old damsel to a salt and pepper haired woman are subtle and her acting excellent; yet, it does not measure up to Ishqiya or Kaminey in the sheer deviance that the characters possess.

PS - Ruskin Bond in a cameo. I wish he had a meatier role. view less

Interestingly this is Vishal Bs 7th film (counting the short-Blood Brothers) as a director. Going by his cent-percent track record of giving absolu... read more

Interestingly this is Vishal Bs 7th film (counting the short-Blood Brothers) as a director. Going by his cent-percent track record of giving absolutely entertaining and refreshing films one after another I am willing to overlook this creative masturbation as a one off including the WTF! climax.

Once upon a time there was a short story by Ruskin Bond. He wrote a novella of the same story which Vishal B & Matthew Robbins turned into a screenplay. A screenplay which paints all the men in Susannas life as bad & evil, making it look forced and unreal. There were several scenes that looked straight out of a play. The end result is a boring & badly written film that will go down as the directors weakest film.

The one thing which I was looking forward to and what the trailer & promotion around the film made me believe is the ingenious ways the 7 murders will happen, but after sitting through this film my mind rolled back to the 1989 Kamal Haasan starrer Appu Raja. Every story has been an interesting quirky title in the promotion but as a whole it is a long drawn affair to wait for the husband to get killed. In fact when the interval card appeared as 4 more to go I was relieved ki chalo ab jaldi khatam ho jaayegi.

The film would have probably worked as 7 different stand-alone shorts, probably exploring the 7 stages of love which Mani Ratnam tried to explore in Dil Se. I wonder how the executives at UTV motion pictures green lighted this script. I am sure the name Vishal Bharadwaj was the two magic words. A commendable debut by Ranjan Palit (D.P), the background score by Vishal B & Vivaan Shah are the only three things likeable in the film. Infact Vivaans is the only sane character in this mad house, jahan sab paagal hai. Subko ek bus mein bharke paagal khaane bhej dena chahiye.
None of the actors cameos works and Priyanka Chopra sincerely & bravely performs an ill written role. The director should take this film as a warning sign that he is losing his grip on the narrative technique which has worked for him so far and with his next being an adaptation of 2 States has me worried that is this the downfall of one of my favorite directors of recent times? Maybe he should stick to Shakespeare and leave Bond for someone else. As i walked out of the theatre i wondered why didn't he get Gulzar to write the script.

Final few words: Watch it for two new talents - Ranjan Palit & Vivaan Shah and for the still talented Vishal Bharadwaj. Sir, aapko 7 mein se yeh ek khoon maaf hai.

Rating : * (bakwaas)

Ticket meter: Worth a 100/- buck ticket but not worth your time.
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7 Khoon Maaf is a story about a woman going on a husband killing spree. In that sense, it's interesting to observe how '7 Khoon' is just the opposi... read more

7 Khoon Maaf is a story about a woman going on a husband killing spree. In that sense, it's interesting to observe how '7 Khoon' is just the opposite of that '7 Fere/7 Janam' concept of marriage. (It's also a useless observation). But that's what the film's message appears to be: There's no true love. Only when you are unattached to the world and its people can you find true love, which is God.

And in the end, cricket is the real winner.

Okay. Serious faces everyone.

If you are a woman, you'd love to be in Susanna's shoes(Priyanka Chopra), and her bed. Her list of husbands encompasses all kinds of men- the uniformed, tough army guy(Neil Nitin Mukesh), the rock star with a bad boy attitude(John Abraham), the soft, sensitive poet(Irrfan Khan), the exotic foreigner(Aleksandr Dyachenko) , the police officer(Annu Kapoor. Couldn't find anything attractive here. Maybe he was just at the right place at the right time) and the wise old man(Naseeruddin Shah).
But if you are already drooling and envying her, she has this to say:
"Duniya Ke Sab Galat Mard Meri Hi Kismet Mei Thhe"

WHAT?? REALLY? Clearly, shes just being nice and humble?

No. You'd think all these men are Gods gift to womankind, but only until they are unwrapped. She kills them all. Brutally. Because the army guy is insecure, possessive and impotent, the rock star is a philandering drug addict, the poet can't get it up unless he beats her in bed, the foreigner has a foreigner wife, the inspector was creepy and ugly anyway and the wise old man has plans to kill her.

Her only satisfying relationships are, ironically, with people she's not sleeping with: Her maid Maggie( Usha Uthup), servant Gunga(Harish Khanna ) and his adopted sun Arun(Vivaan Shah), the narrator of the film. Her relationship with Arun is one of the most complex ones you'll encounter- a poor kid who she helps study, a teenager who secretly fantasizes about her, a witness to her impulsive marriages and killings and almost her lover(She asks him to sleep with her in a grief stricken moment, which he refuses). He's the only stabilizing factor in her life, and reveres her throughout, never failing to call her 'Saheb'. Of course, there's a thin complicated layer here, as he narrates this story of 'the other woman' to his wife(Konkana Sen Sharma).

Susanna's character, with the love, sex, alcohol and tragedy, is somewhat reminiscent of the temptresses of the past, particularly Marilyn Monroe.It's natural to question why she kills when she could've just walked out of her marriages. Are the killings there only so that they could have a stronger story?

I'd say no, because Vishal Bharadwaj is not Nikhil Advani or Farah Khan. He knows what you're thinking and justifies it at an appropriate moment, manipulating you well enough to lead to a pretty poignant climax. However, the movie has more of a Ruskin Bond(who also makes a small appearance) feel than the usual Vishal Bharadwaj feel, probably in an attempt to not lose its original flavor.(It is based on one of Ruskin Bond's stories).

The performances are impeccable, but its Priyanka Chopra's film. She does well to go from being the sexy young lass to an increasingly forlorn, distressed old woman.(Her choice in men deteriorates too. She marries Annu Kapoor)

Watch it for a refreshing take on love,marriage and life.

'Till Death Do Us Apart' wasn't supposed to be taken THIS seriously though.
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After each film of Vishal Bhardwaj, his fan base has only increased. But after Omkara and Kaminey he had reached new heights. Being called Indias T... read more

After each film of Vishal Bhardwaj, his fan base has only increased. But after Omkara and Kaminey he had reached new heights. Being called Indias Tarantino in many a media reviews. So when he announced his next venture, repeating his Kaminey heroine, Priyanka Chopra, hopes were sky high.

This Vishal Bhardwaj adaptation of Ruskin Bonds short story, Susannas Seven Husbands, deals with Susanna and her search for true love. The quest takes her around 45 years, across various cities and to 7 men, till she finally finds salvation.

Without giving away the spoilers, the basic plot, is well known and well publicized. Susanna Anna Marie Johannes (Priyanka Chopra) is a beautiful, intelligent but lonely girl, always yearning for love. Her mothers death during child birth, could be one of the reasons for that. So after her fathers demise, she is left with her 3 faithful loyal aides, Aunt Maria (Usha Utthup), Khalid Bhai (Harish Khanna) and Jockey Goonga (Shashi Malviya). She marries Major Edwin Rodriques (Neil Nitin Mukesh), a man chosen by her father. Even though Major loves Susanna, he has his devils to conquer, one of jealousy and arrogance. An evil, which only compounds after his leg amputation. In an argument, when he realizes that he is impotent, it only increases his rage, which eventually leads to more insulting of Susanna and the loss of an eye for Goonga. This acts as a last straw for the ever patient Susanna. The major gets eaten by a man-eating panther during a hunting session.

During the funeral, she meets choir boy, Jamshed Singh Rathore a.k.a. Jimmy (John Abraham), who catches her fancy, leading to marriage. She encourages Jimmy to pursue his dream of becoming a rock singer, inspired by the song he wrote for her as a wedding gift. As Jimmy becomes Indias Axl Rose incarnate, she realizes that the wedding song was actually stolen by him from his former band member. Madly in love, Susanna forgives this act. But Jimmy gets lost in the world of stardom, sex, drugs and rock n roll. Not wanting to lose Jimmy, she puts him under house arrest and starts his rehabilitation, only to realize he still continues his drug abuse. Unfortunately, he dies of a drug overdose.

In order to recover from her 2 failed marriages, Susanna moves to the land, where apparently Eeshu (Christ) had spent his last few days, Kashmir. Here she marries Wasiullah Khan (Irrfan) and becomes Sultana. But this husband has his own issues. The soft, romantic poet in the day, is a sadist, who gets turned on, only by inflicting physical abuse on her. The graphic morbid love making, even hinting at sodomy, finally breaks Susanna and her loyalists. Eventually Wasiullahs body was found in a snow grave.

This is the where the screen reads FOUR MORE TO GO.. and the film breaks for interval.

Ever since the publicity of the film started, my interest was intrigued by the fact, that how will Vishal manage to keep on recreating the episodic murders of Susannas husbands in an interesting and involving fashion. This is where he fails. By the interval point, you have almost reached saturation point in this directory of husband murders. And you still have 4 more to endure. This is where ones patience runs out. The marriages to Russian Attache, Nicolas Vronsky (Aleksandr Dyachenko), Keemat Lal (Annu Kapoor) and Dr. Madhusudhan Tarafdar (Naseeruddin Shah) all meet the same fate. Only during her relationship with Nicolas, does she ever logically argue against getting married, but that has its own flaws. Why did Nicolas want to get married to her, considering his background? He was already enjoying a good relationship with a rich socialite, who herself did not want any commitment from him! The marriage to Keemat Lal was a compromise, a way of legalizing her sleeping out of fear of the law, with him. The only logical relationship that she wants, is to satisfy her physical needs with Arun Kumar (Vivaan Shah), her protg of sorts. The manner in which she strips for him only to face rebuttal, epitomizes her state in life, wherein she keeps yearning for true love only to face disappointment.

Usha Utthup & Shashi Malivya are okay. Not much scope here. John Abraham is a disappointment. More to blame is the lack of characterization in his case. Aleksandr as the hindi speaking Russian is okay. Naseeruddin Shah has epitomized the art of merging the parsi dialect in all his roles. Be it as the priest in Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na or as the Bengali in this one. Wonder why did Vishal not show him as a Parsi in the first place, would have hardly made a difference to the characteror its end.

Now the only people because of whom one should endure this film.

Vivaan Shah lives upto the acting genes that he has inherited from his parents, Naseer & Ratna. He is a natural. Along with Susanna, Arun is the only character that survives her marriages. His aging, physically and emotionally is beautiful. The entire film is narrated from his view point, to his wife (Konkona Sen Sharma in a guest appearance). It is his comic interludes that gives the film its dark humour.

Neil Nitin Mukesh as the jealous major is excellent. He shows the same spark that he had shown in Johnny Gaddar. Not trying to over step the line here, but found him very similar to Sanjeev Kumar in his expressions at times. Neil actually makes you want to pick the gun and shoot him yourself and spare Susanna the ordeal.

Irrfan Khan playing the Dr. Jekyll by day and Mr. Hyde by night, poet is a treat. Although he has very limited screen time, he does leave his impact. But again, suffers from relatively poor characterization.

Now, the scene stealers:

Harish Khanna as the loyal butler is first rate. Be it his interpretation of Goongas abuses to Edwin, his humorous threat to Nicolas or his justification of Susanna to young Arun. Brilliant.

Annu Kapoor as the horny inspector turned Intelligence officer, Keemat Lal is the hero here. Be it his lust for Susanna as the investigating officer for the death of John Abraham, or whilst investigating the death of the Russian. His expressions when he sits next to Susannas exposed leg, reminds you of a dog looking at the piece of meat, which is kept in front of him, which he wants to ravish, but cannot touch. It is completely Mohanlals loss, for having refused this role at the last minute, apparently, leading to Annus stepping in.

This is another award winning performance by Priyanka Chopra. As mentioned regularly, the awards depend on the lobbies next year, but Priyanka is a sure shot contender for the national award. Besides her aging from a 21 year old to a 65 year old, physically, she lives the character of Susanna. She carries the film, inspite of its flaws, completely on her able shoulders. One wise decision by Vishal to have cast her.

Coming to the culprit here, it is not Vishal the Director who lets you down, but Vishal the script writer. He beautifully shows the timeline of Susannas life, in a seemingly timeless era, vide the news of the current events happening around her : the fall of the Berlin wall, the Babri Masjid demolition, the Nuclear launch or the recent 26/11 attack. But he suffers from the Bhansali syndrome as I call it. He crisscrosses between documentary, drama and the esoteric realms here, which leaves the viewer not confused, but irritated. He has shot the film well, the sound effects are good, the music, though good, has not picked up. Guess people were expecting another Dhan Te Nan from him. Where he fails is in the scripting. That coupled with the background music, or rather the lack of it, doesnt help his cause. Primarily, since the film is so episodic, there is no link in the film. It is, as if one is watching 7 different stories, back to back. Should he have shot the film in a non-linear format? Would that have appealed better? Should he have adapted the style made famous by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, of presenting 3, in this case 7, stories simultaneously, leaving the viewer confused but hooked on till the end, where the plot finally culminates into its logical end? Dont know, will never know. The entire Khwaja mere Khwaja inspired dance of Susanna in the end, was way over the top. Even difficult for a sucker like me to believe.

See the film only for the performances by Priyanka, Vivaan, Neil, Irrfan, Harish & Annu.

Does it have The Y Factor:Regretfully NO.

Rating:5/10
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