A hat-trick from Sunjay Dutt

The dark horse wins.Khauf is the kind of film one hopes for, but doesn't expect. Another gangster and vendetta bloodbath, you think, as th...

The dark horse wins.Khauf is the kind of film one hopes for, but doesn’t expect. Another gangster and vendetta bloodbath, you think, as the film begins with a customary account of the big, bad ways of Mumbai. But the smirks dissolve as an interesting story unfolds, eschewing the excessive violence that is the norm in contemporary movies.

Sanjay Dutt is an underworld sharpshooter out to silence a murder witness, Manisha Koirala, into submission. The crime has been committed by Parmeet Sethi, the son of Suresh Oberoi, who is about to fight a state election. In fact, the aspiring politician vows not to file his papers until his son has been cleared of all charges. That must have been the longest nomination period recorded in history. Or the quickest trial ever. Sunjay Dutt has always been a favourite of the brawn-lovers’ brigade, and is fast pulling in the thinking audience too, thanks to some exceptional performances in Khoobsurat and Vaastav. And now Khauff. He completes a hat-trick with this film.

Considerable thought has gone into his role as Babu, but it does have shades of Amitabh Bachchan’s character in Satte Pe Satta. Sunjay Dutt’s deliberate, measured tones are complemented by the deep, searching looks he gives Manisha as he threatens her. Particularly the scene where he leads her to believe he will run her sister over, as well as the one where he actually finishes off an acquaintance, Raja, are remarkable. Here, his performance is almost matched by Kabir Lal’s camerawork, and director Sanjay Gupta’s way of building up the suspense. For a film named Khauff, such sequences become vital.

However, Manisha Koirala is a marked contrast, and her insipid acting sticks out like a sore thumb. Even Jaspal Bhatti, Tinnu Anand, Suresh Oberoi and Parmeet Sethi do a better job. Some nervous, rapid-fire lines the actress is assigned become unintelligible when she delivers them at breakneck speed, devoid of feeling. This puts a damper on Anand Wardhan’s dialogues. In fact, part of the credit for the success of Sanjay Dutt’s character should go to his smart repartee. He delivers some really funny lines poker-faced, proving that comedy is not outside his sphere of action either. Anu Malik’s music ranks low on the film’s production values, and drowns out the lyrics in Kehte hain ki rog. Only Daler Mehndi’s Ankh ladti hai to ladne de becomes special for a spirited guest appearance put in by Raveena Tandon. Wish she and Manisha had swapped roles.

–Bella Jaisinghan