Siskiyaan Movie Review

Ayesha and Javed

Starring
Neha Dhupia .... Ayesha Sheikh
Sonu Sood .... Dr. Vishwas
Sachin Khedekar .... Javed Sheikh
Sanjay Chauhan

Producer
Deepak Sharma
Guddu Dhanoa
Sunil Saini

Director
Ashwini Chaudhary

Background Music
Surendra Sodhi

Cinematography
Arun Varma

Choreography
Pony Verma

Siskiyaan is not your run of the mill Hindi film. It’s a film that delves deep into human emotions and instincts. Starring Neha Dhupia, Sachin Khedekar and Sonu Sood, the film is set in post riots Gujarat. It is a dark and sombre movie set in a single night around three characters.

Ayesha Shaikh (Neha) is a journalist, who is a victim of the many atrocities that were committed during the riots. In the times of riots she was raped by a doctor in a relief camp for three days. She was blindfolded and could not see the rapist.

Dr. Vishwas

Ayesha carries the psychological and emotional scars of that incident even after her marriage to her husband Javed Sheikh (Sachin Khedekar). Her husband is an honest, straight forward newspaper editor, who has been appointed by the State to inquire into the riots, and deliver justice to the victims.

One fateful night, Javed comes home with a doctor named Vishwas (Sonu Sood). As Ayesha observes the way the doctor talks, smokes and behaves, she starts believing that he is the man who raped her. She knows the rapist's body odour. And she smells that in Dr. Vishwas.

Since she was blindfolded in the relief camp, she is not sure. Her husband initially refuses to believe her, but later on, as the events move forward, he too starts believing her. The two of them terrorize and torment the apparently innocent doctor, threatening him with injury and death. The doctor maintains his innocence.

The story of Siskiyaan is not an uninteresting one. Only it begins to drag in the second half when the movie becomes too much dialogue oriented. Also the movie’s setting, a secluded house, looks more theatrical and less real.

One strong point is Neha Dhupia, who shows remarkable growth as an actress. The way she stares in the mirrors, the desensitized, blown-out expressions on her face and her vitriolic outburst towards the end – all lend credibility to her character Ayesha, a victim seeking revenge and justice.

Another positive point is the background score and the absence of any unnecessary songs. The movie has just one track, sung by Bhupinder.

But the biggest flaw maybe that not many viewers would be able to relate to the story and some may even find it sad and depressing.

Siskiyaan director Ashwini Chaudhary has chosen an offbeat subject. His cinematic execution is deft at times, but a few good assorted sequences don’t make a gripping movie.

In short, Siskiyaan is based on a serious story that may not appeal to everyone.

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