An accident that could be a crime. A menacing character from the demi-monde. An investigation. A psychologically wounded cop, his anguished wife and a sultry-eyed, red-lipped lady of the night.
Now add four of Hindi cinema’s best actors to the scene of the crime. Aamir Khan plays Inspector Surjan Singh Shekhawat, trying to come to terms with the death of his son and confronted with a case that brings back disturbing memories. Rani Mukherjee is his heartbroken wife, Sunaina, who now has to deal with her husband’s daily dalliance with a call girl. Kareena Kapoor as the seductive and dangerous Rosy; is she playing games with their minds as well as marriage? The electric Nawazuddin Siddiqui spikes up the danger and suspense quotient — how and why?
Some of the clues embedded in this psychological thriller have been scattered before us. There’s only one way to find the answers.
Talaash could be the big-budget, well-crafted, noir thriller that mainstream Hindi cinema hasn’t seen in a long time..
Reema Kagti’s directorial record ( Honeymoon Travels in 2007) is not much of a pointer in this direction. But merely getting a nod from the fastidious and demanding Aamir Khan for her script has already made her stock zoom.
Khan has said that it was not just that the script had him on the edge of his seat; its strong emotional moorings had him hooked (a reasoning he used for Ghajini as well, if you remember).
His first outing with producer-director Farhan Akhtar, Dil Chahta Hai , reworked the age-old ‘ jigri dost ’ theme into a bromance that brought in a new style of film-making to Hindi cinema.
This time around, they’re taking film noir into the crevices of a Mumbai-style underbelly. The result promises to be exciting. All of this is just a bonus, though. How many of us need inducements to catch the latest Aamir Khan movie?
Bottomline: Taking film noir into the crevices of a Mumbai-style underbelly.
Talaash
Cast:Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Director:Reema Kagti
Releases:November 30