SAAT KHOON MAAF

Cast: Priyanka Chopra, Nassaruddin Shah, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Annu Kapoor, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan,Vivaan Shah

Director: Vishal Bharadwaj

When Vishal Bharadwaj makes a movie, it most assuredly reeks with dark humour. This film follows the same trend. Unlike most of his other movies, however, this one may not be appreciated by everyone.

The movie, adapted from Ruskin Bond’s short story, narrates the tale of the ‘black widow’ Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes( Priyanka Chopra), whose unending quest for love leads to her killing those men who are unfortunate enough to marry her and is both gory and gripping.

The movie starts with a young forensic doctor, who receives a suicide note addressed from Sussanah, which also wishes him luck on his recent wedding. He is also responsible for proving, through forensics, that the body found is indeed Sussanah’s . Overwhelmed, he begins narrating Sussnah’s story to his recently wedded wife, played by Konkana Sen Sharma.

Much of the credit goes to the actors. Bharadwaj’s movies have always been known to have a strong cast, whether it was Maqbool or Omkara or Kaminey. This movie is no exception. The performances by the actors are stunning; Priyanka Chopra portrays the merciless Sussannah with utmost conviction and proves, yet again, that she is one of the best actresses in the Indian cinema today. The scene in which she slaps herself several times as a preparation to kill husband number three is one of the high points of this movie.

Nassaruddin Shah in his role as the dependable doctor is just right; Niel Nitin Mukesh, who plays the jealous first husband, fits the role like a glove; Annu Kapoor, who plays the shrewd inspector Keemat Lal, simply lights up the screen with his sheer presence; Irrfan Khan, who plays the sadistic third husband is his usual brilliant self. Even John Abraham, who is generally not much of an actor, does justice to his role.

On the downside however, the movie can get monotonous after a certain point. The end of the movie is rather predictable, making the movie somewhat of an anti-climax.

This movie may not be a Maqbool or an Omkara or even a Kaminey, but it does have a certain charm to it. You can either love it or hate it, but this movie is incapable of stirring mild reactions from the audience.