7KM

Huge PC fan that I am and an admirer of the genius called Vishal Bharadwaj it isn't surprising I caught the first day first show of 7 Khoon Maaf. So take what I saw with a pinch of salt, because its hard for anyone to be objective when you are a fan follower.

For one, I loved the unique storyline. A female protagonist with a strong female oriented storyline doesn't usually get a lot of takers in Bollywood. Combine that with Vishal Bharadwaj's unique take on Indian cinema; much like Kaminey or Omkara, this one's different. For the second time in less than 3 months, I find another Bollywood director who goes for the unusual(the earlier one was Dhobi Ghat) and how! I think the one failing is due to the amount of time spent developing the many husbands and their character flaws and eventually their deaths, Vishal is left with very little time and opportunity to really explain and establish Priyanka's character. Or perhaps he left it to his intelligent audience to figure it out themselves. Either which way, I think the critics are going to complain about that point while I choose to give Vishal the benefit of doubt. Perhaps it is not so hard to really understand why she chooses to rid herself of this interminable pain called marriage to the weirdos she seems to get stuck with. There are those that bear the pain and live it out, there are some that choose to end it, albeit in a shocking manner.

That said, 7KM's music is not upto the usual Vishal fare. 'Darling' and 'Bekaraan' are probably better than the rest, but usually Vishal Bharadwaj's music is his trademark style and each song is usually a winner. Not so in this case.

All in all, I loved the movie. It was a unique experience and the surprise quotient was Vivaan Shah's role and his portrayal of it. There's another gem in the making, not surprisingly so for being Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah's son. I loved the ending, which has been kept under the covers and I will keep it that way too. Perhaps that makes for a good reason to watch the movie. Of all her husbands(Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Annu Kapoor, Naseeruddin Shah) I think the Irrfan Khan one was the most well developed and executed story.

PC has gained weight and aged throughout the movie and so has Vivaan(for being in his early twenties) and I would be surprised if she doesn't get some recognition for this role from critics and perhaps even from the masses. Either way, this might just be the push she needed for her career to soar.

Oh and no review of this movie can be complete without mention of the subtle background of India's political scene that exists in every frame in the movie. Be it Babri Masjid riots or India's nuclear tests- its all woven so simplistically that one could almost miss it. But that's SO Vishal...to not put his political views in your face, but show that he has an opinion and he cares, albeit through brilliantly subtle references.