Visfot
Introduction
If only, if only the drama had ended on a better note! Jio Cinema has a knack of randomly announcing and popping content lately (although way better structured than its initial days). This basically meant that the new Hindi film Visfot did not get the kind of attention prior to its release as it deserved. An adaptation of the Spanish film Rock, Paper, Scissor, the opening act was a stark commentary between the difference in the lifestyles of folks of the upper society, and those of the lower society. And in between, the drama was expertly tied together with some much needed grip that had me pleasantly invested in the drama, something that was way better than my expectations. Also, me not having any reference point of the original film, did actually help me even better given that I did initially go into the film blind. But the film post its incredible first act, did start dropping its bits of intensity only briefly rises above the ashes in spurts and jerks. That said, how does Visfot fare in its entirety, let’s find out.
Story & Screenplay
The premise of Visfot is simple wherein the entire drama unfolds on a single day. It comprises of four characters, two each from different stratas of the society whose lives are intertwined due to a set of unforeseen events. At its core, the story here is tended towards the crime genre which is evident from its opening act. Two characters exchanging conversations in a cab in the middle of the night until the revelation of drugs leads to one of them being forced to guard them at his home, was an interesting start. This, even as the world builds by introducing a few characters around him leading up to the first twist in the tale. I liked how the character trait of a particular character fuels the conflict further, thereby triggering a chain of events spanning a runtime of just over 2 hours that seem organic to begin with.
The template of this thriller is interesting given how a chain of events lead to a single focal point before changing the point of view to a different character and a different chain of events leading to that single focal point. In contrast, the introduction of the second protagonist is also an interesting one given the equation that he shares with his family comprising of his wife and child. He remains aloof with his wife which is not only in contrast to the relationship that the first protagonist shares with his close circle but also acts as a catalyst for triggering the chain reaction that acts as a conflict within a conflict. There is urgency in the first act that slowly allows you to invest in the characters with another huge plus being the use of real locations that add a different and contrasting dimension to the proceedings.
Weirdly so, by the start of the second act when all the dynamics are set and equations are drawn, the drama dips in intensity by a couple of notches even as the writers choose to explore the ‘crime’ angle of the proceedings in a systematic manner. Usually this technique is often employed to slow things down and more importantly, for a huge payoff at the backend of the drama. As a result, you see a couple of characters come and go while I was going through the motion waiting for a ‘Visfot-ic’ end to come into play. Here I must also add that the proceedings did get slightly repetitive while only quietly raising the stakes in the drama with respect to the character of a Female Mafia, who I really wished to watch more than her stipulated screentime. There were a couple of twists along the way that briefly elevated the drama and setting up things for the final blast in its third act. But alas! It wasn’t to be….
One of the main issues that I had with the final act wasn’t as much with the screenplay but more with the staging. There needed to be a little more tension to elevate the drama at the very beginning of the third act even as the two worlds were going to finally collide. While I did like the little twist leading up to the third act, I was expecting a far better clash in two separate incidents that would eventually transpire at two separate locations. I did feel the tension just wasn’t built up in either of the two settings, even as the drama jostled while oscillating between them. There were twists in the screenplay at the end that threatened to end the film with a blast. But the final resolution was rather tepid wherein an additional layer of conflict was required to end the drama on a high. And the track involving the female mafia and the final face off with her was right in your face but inexplicably left out in the open. So overall, the screenplay definitely has its moments of tension but just tapers away at the end that makes for just about an above average watch.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are sharp and starkly contrasting to the two worlds as shown at the very beginning. So the crude and raw lines suddenly transform into a more polished state even as the drama makes a transition. This pattern is seen consistently throughout the narrative which was a plus for me. The music is decent but the placement of the song in the final act just reeked of the 90s approach, wherein songs were used as a transition medium to the final conflict. The BGM is pretty good and adds layers of urgency in the drama. The cinematography comprising of frames that are shaky add to the rawness of the drama, although the framing takes a huge beating in the final act. The editing is good to begin with but all over the place in its final act that never allows tension to settle in thereby leading to a diluted finale. Director Kookie Gulati follows a similar trajectory too – impressing at the start with the world building and characterization but completely missing the plot with respect to the staging in the final act. The failure of the final act can be attributed to the director more than the written screenplay that just missed one trick at the end.
Performances
The performances are a mixed bag here. The veterans Seema Biswas as Acid Tai and Sheeba Chadha are such wonderful actors who leave a lasting impression here despite not being given solidly penned characters. Nachiket Purnapatre is terrific to the core as Manya and he definitely makes his presence felt. Krystal D’Souza as Lucky has an incredible screen presence and she is quite sincere and earnest in her act. Priya Bapat as Tara is terrific with her expressions and body language, and she does a brilliant job overall. This brings me to the interesting case of Fardeen Khan and Riteish Deshmukh. Clearly the latter is the more efficient actor out of the two which made me wonder this – what if there was a role reversal wherein Fardeen would play the upper class more comforting role of Akash and Riteish the slightly raw character of Shoeb. The reason being that Fardeen Khan was decent but found wanting in some of the scenes that required him to emote on an emotional level, simply resorting to screaming at a particular instance. Riteish on the other hand was more proficient and could easily have played the other character that was required to do a lot of the heavy lifting too. I guess the collective performance of the film would have been elevated further by this tweak.
Conclusion
Visfot is a decently thrilling drama that falls a little short of thrills at the finish line thereby making it just an above average affair. The sentiment remains – <span;>If only, if only the drama had ended on a better note! Available on Jio Cinema.
