By P Shukla - Eye TV India Bureau
Critic's I-view
| click for larger view |
 |
| click for larger view |
 |
| click for larger view |
 |
| click for larger view |
 |
| click for larger view |
 |
A NEW AGE SOUTEN SET TO BREAK THE HOME
By P Shukla - Eye TV India Bureau
Critic's I-view
Bollywood is a place where one cannot decide his or her fate .In fact, it is this city that decides one's fate . Take the case of Karan Rajdan. He made his debut in Mithun Chakraborthy's film 'Disco Dancer'. He showed his guts of being a rough guy from the very first shot he faced before the camera. But, soon his sheen and shine faded and he was out of the limelight. Karan sprang back this time as a director though. Meanwhile, the trend changed to make sleaze movies. And, Karan jumped on this by making his debut film 'Hawas' as a director. Illicit relations became a passion for Karan Rajdan and he followed it in his next 'Girl Friend'. He was touted as a semi-porn filmmaker. But for removing this spot from his career he made a different film 'Umar' though it failed miserably.
So, Karan is back with his old stuff, that is, oomph, oodles and lots of oh-ah and aha. Karan's latest film 'Souten' falls in this category. The film has been in the news for different reasons. First, there was news that its lead actress Mahima Chaudhry had not been reporting for the shoot. Later it was said that she had walked out of the film for non-payment by the producer. As a result, the film was delayed. Now, 'Souten' has reached box office without any publicity. If we take the case of Mahima then she has done the second blunder of her career by not doing the scenes that she was required to and that could have put more meat in this dish (first of course being her break with her mentor showman Subhash Ghai).
Like Karan Rajdan's earlier films 'Souten' too centers on illicit relationships. But, this time he tries to handle incest themes though not literally. Mahima Chaudhry plays the title role of 'Souten' in this film. She is Mitali, wife of a millionaire named Rajbir (Gulshan Grover). Mitali is young, beautiful and loves to live her life with full vigor and jubilation. But, Rajbir is always busy contemplating to increase his business empire. He has little time for Mitali, as in trendsetter film 'Murder' where aloofness of a married woman becomes more painful that loneliness of an unmarried girl. So, what would Mitali do? She did have a boy friend but he is no more. Mitali wants to quench her thirst of physical satisfaction and the very first man that she finds close to her is the brother of his husband's partner Sumer (Shakti Kapoor). Sumer has taken all care of his brother Raj (Vikram Singh) and has a lot of affection for him. So, when Raj lands at Mitali's place, she is entrusted to escort him for outing. Mitali gets a chance to feel the touch and soon she has him on the bed.
The relationship between Raj and Mitali keeps growing but until Smita (Padmini Kolhapure), Sumer's wife comes to know about it. Smita confronts Mitali on this and warns her of the consequences. But, Mitali who was devoid of this physical pleasure for long, won't let Raj slip out of her grip. On the other hand, Smita manages to convince Raj that he is in the wrong. And, before Mitali could do any thing, her stepdaughter Sapna (Kiran Rathod) moves in. Raj meets Sapna and after an initial hate, they develop a bond. Mitali plays the vamp again and tells Sapna about her and Raj's relationship. Sapna is shocked to know all this and she leaves Raj and agrees to marry another boy. Soon, things change very fast. But, Karan does not dare to take the film's climax on a different path and ends it according to the Bollywood tradition . And, that takes away the grip of the story.
As a writer-director Karan Rajdan has once again shown that he is an archetype filmmaker who is here to break all the barriers and taboos to make a dent in the popular cinema. He carefully chooses only those subjects that will immediately make the headlines in trade papers. A woman in illicit relationship with a boy who intends to marry her daughter is not an easy story to conceive though we have seen its flashes in Kamal Hasan, Hema Malini and Raj Kumar starrer 'Ek Nayi Paheli' in the past. Karan and Mahima could have made 'Souten', a matter to talk about but the latter's attitude towards her work has marred all that. Karan is forced to use Mahima's duplicate in many scenes and that takes away the continuity and impact of the story. Karan gets pass marks for his courage and some out of the box scene creations in the film.
Besides Karan Rajdan, if there is any other person who has given this film a life, it is Mahima Chaudhry. She looks very comfortable in doing the vamp's role for the first time in her career. After seeing Mahima making love with a much younger Raj, everyone in the theater calls her a bitch and that's a big compliment for her. Mahima is going through a lean phase in her career and a role like this could have brought her back in focus. But due to differences between her and the filmmaker, she has lost this opportunity. Newcomer Vikram Singh too fails to grab a good opportunity. He copies Shah Rukh Khan too much. On the other hand, Kiran Rathod promises freshness. She has the guts to do this but needs to be more careful before the camera next time. Gulshan Grover and Shakti Kapoor do their roles aptly and Padmini's comeback is nice to watch. The film's music is melodious but not well publicized. Anand Milind has come back with some good music but after a long gap. On the whole, 'Souten' targets at the middle class and frontbenchers. So, this class of viewers won't feel cheated.
By P Shukla - Eye TV India Bureau
Critic's I-view
All News Material is Copyright © by SmasHits.com
RELATED CONTENT
- WILL MAHIMA SUCCEED IN 'SOUTEN'? [Article]
