Movie Review: Shaitan

Amy(Kalki Koechlin) aka Amirta Jayshankar recently moved to Mumbai from LA along with her dad and step-mom. Her biological mom was mentally ill and Amy is often haunted by her childhood memories of her mom’s illness till date. While attending a party with her parents in Mumbai, Amy meets KC(Gulshan Devaiya), son of a wealthy socialite. KC gives her a joint to smoke. When they get high and comfortable with each other, KC invites Amy to his residence for a Holi party.

During the Holi party, Amy meets Zubin(Neil Bhoopalam), Dash aka Dushyant Sahu(Shiv Pandit) and Tanya(Kirti Kulhari). Zubin is an intelligent kid hailing from a wealthy Parsi family. Dash works as a waiter in a local restaurant and makes extra money by supplying drugs. Tanya is a model who is controlled by her sister. All five of them bond and become thick friends soon. They party like there is no tomorrow.

Often, they are roaming the city in KC’s Hummer after getting high on drugs. On one fateful night, all five of them get playful inside the car after their usual dosages of drugs, food and excitement. As a result, KC is distracted while driving. All of a sudden, the Hummer collides with a scooter; killing the two persons. All five panic and flee the scene of crime. But their mistake catches up in the form of a suspended Inspector named Arvind(Rajeev Khandelwal) bringing out the evil inside each of them.

Bejoy Nambiar debuts with this drama which is entertaining, thrilling and funny. Shaitan is unquestionably a director’s movie. At the same time, this movie is a risky launch pad for a debutant. Even with odds going against him, Bejoy proves his capabilities and comfort factor with the medium. With co-producer like Anurag Kashyap, there is very little that can go wrong. The movies stands out for various reasons; the first being the script. Co-scripted by Bejoy Nambiar, it is based on the simple premise of reality being the best comedy. The real life incidents and real life dialogues will have you in splits; unintentional from the actor’s perspective and intentional from the director’s perspective. The cinematography by Madhie provides some spectacular shots especially the slow motion shots; be it the fight sequence, Amy’s fall into the swimming pool, Hummer sequences, accident etc. The background music by Ranjit Barot has been used innovatively – both sound and the place – to enhance the viewing experience. The songs are fresh in sound and rendering. Luckily, the songs do not hinder the pace of the narrative.

The cast is young and there are a handful of veterans in the movie. But it is difficult to differentiate between the young cast and the veteran ones. All the performances are good.

This is a must watch for all serious movie lovers. For the rest, the movie is gripping. But, there are many scenes which are not suitable for a family audience. So discretion is recommended.

Language: Hindi

Genre: Drama

Rating: ****

Picture Courtesy: Bollywood Hungama

Tags: Movies,Kalki Koechlin,Rajeev Khandelwal,Drama