Directed By - Vishal Bhardwaj
Starring - Priyanka Chopra, Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah, Vivaan Shah
Early on in the film Sussana's( Priyanka Chopra) butler comments that " Sussana ma'am raasta nahi badalti , kutto ka bheja uda deti hain" and this sets the tone for Vishal Bhardwaj's much awaited black comedy.The premise that most people know is about a woman Sussana Anne-Marie Johannes who in her quest for love and peace encouters and and murders a series of husbands.What people dont know is how beautifully Bhardwaj's scripts it.Adapted from Ruskin bond's 6 page long short story Sussana's Seven Husbands , Bhardwaj underlines the entire story with an underlined tinge of humour and dark sarcasm to bring to the audiences what is easily one of the most interesting films in recent times.With every passing murder you sympathise with sussana and yet you see that she becomes more ruthless in her decisions and her executions, and that requires some killer writing which vishal bhardwaj is an ace at.The excellent dialogues of the film are courtesy Gulzaar saab which contain some soul stirring shayaaris and some cringe-worthy vernacular abuses.If anything fails in the film is the length , at 2 hours and 45 minutes any film in the world is bound to lose its steam and quite expectedly the films loses its steam after the 3rd or 4rth murder and there comes a point where you know whats going to happen and you are just waiting for the murder to happen.Although it is difficult iam sure Vishal Bhardwaj could keep the suspense alive.Of the cast Annu Kapoor proves to be the most convincing and funny as the nymphomaniacal Inspector keemat lal, the sixth husband of sussana , his character right from him staring at her legs to his excessive use of viagra are genuinely funny and interesting, Note the scene e\whre the marriage of sussana and keemat lal is shown and in a split second his funeral is shown, fine work of editing.Of the other husband Neil Nitin Mukesh gives a rare realistic potrayal of an egoistic and possesive army man and Naseeruddin Shah shows what experience can be, for any bengali he is easily the most enjoyable character in the film. John Abraham proves to a sore thumb and competes with a stone when it comes to giving expressions and irrfan khan comes with a convincing performance of a sexually sadistic urdu poet which makes you actually want to kill him. An excellent performance is delivered by Vivaan shah (who also happens to be the narrator of the film) and he proves why he is Naseeruddin shah's son.But as is expected the films cruises on the shoulders of its protagonist Priyanka Chopra. Chopra gives that rare performance of a girl who at one moment makes the audience pity for her and in the other moment shows a streak of violence.Hats off to piggy chops and iam quite definite she is sweeping all best actress awards next year. In the end the film works on a stellar casting, perfect screenplay , bold and carefree direction and a thumping performance from the leading lady yet due to its shortcomings its a strictly one time watch
Rating - 7.9/10
