The thought of an empty bus ride home lost its charm after December 16, 2012. I hope you have healed a little, Nirbhaya. It's ironic that of all 200-odd films made in a year, it is 'Wajah Tum Ho', which finds itself in theatres today. The reason I bring up Nirbhaya's story is because the film shows a gangrape — sensational, titillating and handled insensitively. It is graphic and makes you cringe. The men in power, who brutalise the victim, walk away scot-free till her revenge is plotted.
Pitched as a thriller, the movie opens with the live telecast of a murder. The accused is a TV channel owner Rahul (Rajniesh Duggall), who probably fashioned the incident for TRPs. His company's legal head, Siya (Sana Khan), defends him even if it means going against her boyfriend, opposition lawyer Ranveer (Gurmeet Choudhary).
We have a Singham-like cop mouthing smart-ass punch lines (a poker faced Sharman Joshi) trying to solve the kutta-lomdi khel. The fairly simple plot got made into a film only because a few chauvinists needed some 'entertainment' to go with their popcorn. A lady 'happily' spends the night with a multi-millionaire even if he is a rapist only because he is willing to pay her bills. Of course, that would be a pretty apt description of the modern world, thinks director Vishal Pandya.
In the middle of a courtroom, Siya rubbishes the case against her client, calling out to its lack of logic, pretty much summing up this bizarre movie. The onion-like plot, that has multiple farcical layers, only makes you weep at the fate of Hindi movies. The actors do a flimsy job, caring more about their presumably hefty pay cheques than their characters.
I felt the worst for Sharman, the only sincere one in the ensemble cast, looking for the merit of his previous work ('3 Idiots', 'Rang De Basanti'). Alas, nothing clicks. Not the dialogue-baazi or Duggall as the constipated antagonist. The vision of Sana and Gurmeet cuddling each other to the classic Pal Pal is any Kishore Kumar fan's worst nightmare realised.
It's a great watch for those looking for cleavage shots of busty ladies heaving and all. The men aren't much of a delight in that department — in one scene, a woman sprays perfume on her guy before doing 'it'. A cue for body hygiene, and also to make better movies that don't trivialise rape. No Nirbhaya, India hasn't changed much. We still objectify women — zoom into their butts and breasts to sell tickets. Hope you are in a better place.
