Shiddat
RATING
Introduction
You may have witnessed a bit of inconsistency in posting our reviews lately. This is because we were on a much deserved break. But the good news is that we are now back with a bang with a renewed sense of enthusiasm. So no holding up, lets finish the few new movies from the weekend. And I have just finished watching the new Hindi film Shiddat on Hotstar. When it comes to romantic movies, I am all in! I am a sucker for RomComs and really love an intense love story which might have its heart in the right place. When it came to Shiddat, I had really loved its trailer and it just seemed to be extremely heartfelt and intense. But its word of mouth is extremely mixed. Some have indeed found it yo be a disaster but some have really applauded it for delivering exactly what it had promised. What do I think of it? Stay tuned!
Story & Screenplay
Shiddat follows two parallel love stories and how the two protagonists find their love. Let me put this across the table first : Yes, the story is illogical and extremely far fetched. But somehow I did feel that it has its heart in the right place. Maybe it is my current mindset or otherwise but the story has a lot of soul that was the need of the hour here without which this would have been a borefest considering its huge runtime of almost 150 minutes. The screenplay is heartfelt for most parts. What I did not agree with here is the concept of stalking to achieve your love. You cannot traumatise a person veiling it as love. And I do not support that either. But to the writers’ credit, they do not over glamourize it. And it did help a bit when you got to know more about its protagonist and how he did not mean harm(like him confessing in one of the scenes in the second hour). There are several heartwarming and heartfelt moments like these that did appeal to the part of me who is a sucker for romance. After a beautiful opening sequence, there is a bit of a slide when the story goes into flashback. And here let me also point out that at various junctures throughout the screenplay, you will question the logic. But to give this film a fair trial, I would ask you to ignore the bits which lack logic. The second hour could have been trimmed a bit it did move at a fair pace. The illogical climax did run a risk of undoing some of the good work but thankfully it was the ending that made you feel for the characters thereby passing off a few of the flaws. Overall an illogical but heartfelt screenplay.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are extremely well written and some of the lines stay with you as your heart skips a beat. The music is perhaps the best I have heard all year. The songs are soulful with gut wrenching lyrics that has got me hooked to the album as I have started listening to it on loop. It just goes to show that originality still sells instead of the mindless remakes that are being churned out. Director Kunal Deshmukh has done a pretty good job. It seems he knows the pulse of the audience from this genre and he puts in a lot of soul to the drama that ultimately touches your heart!
Performances
The performances are indeed terrific that adds a layer to the drama. Diana Penty as Ira looks gorgeous and does a splendid job. Radhika Madan as Kartika excels in a slightly underwritten role. She is just so natural and I am glad she is getting such roles to prove her acting mettle. For me personally it was Mohit Raina as Gautam who was the pick of the actors for me. His silence did speak a thousand words and his expressions made me standup and take notice. He could so easily have gone overboard with this or made it a dull act but his strong presence and demeanor stays with you after the film is over. Sunny Kaushal as Jaggi is the surprise package here. He puts in a lot of soul to his performance that makes it heartfelt and affable. You really feel for his character at the end despite some mindless writing which means it is a job well done.
Conclusion
Despite it being illogical, Shiddat has its heart in the right place with a soulful soundtrack and some glittering performances. Available on Hotstar.