With the fourth instalment of the Hate Story franchise, Vishal Pandya would like to sell us a pertinent social message. He’s raising awareness on ‘eve teasing’ — as we’re informed in a pre-end credits scene (with statistics no less). To execute this noble cause, he uses excessive cleavage close-ups, angles that look up dancing women’s clothes and an embarrassing amount of on-screen kissing. Plus, there’s not one but two attempts at drugging a woman’s drink, and even some light lady slapping and choking thrown in for good measure.
Using a classic trope to build tension — there’s none really unless you consider the anxiety of watching a woman’s bra strap falling off her shoulders during a whole song — Hate Story 4 begins with a bang.
- Cast: Urvashi Rautela, Karan Wahi, Vivan Bhatena and Ihana Dhillon
- Director: Vishal Pandya
- Storyline: Someone’s out to destroy the Khurana clan while both brothers are obsessed with the same woman
We arrive first at a crime scene. There’s a bunch of ill-timed Balaji-esque zooms and theatrical EDM music that are consistently incongruent to the narrative’s context. Through flashbacks we’re told of the Khurana clan who reside in the UK: Aryan (Vivan Bhatena) is the elder son, Rajveer (Karan Wahi) is a photographer and their father Vikram (Gulshan Grover) is running for elections as England’s (the whole country’s) mayor. His two sons have become infatuated with the stripper-turned-model Tasha (Urvashi Rautela) much to the disappointment of Aryan’s partner Rishma (a perpetually stoic Ihana Dhillon).
Hate Story 4 is a hilarious ode to the revenge films. Think of any successful attempt in the genre — Chaalbaaz , Khoon Bhari Maang , Kahaani — and this film is its poverty-stricken and talent-less cousin. In this film, punishment is best served extreme: expressionless or over-the-top. When Pandya is not wowing us with how British people (with Australian accents) seem to be part of company meetings conducted in Hindi, dialogue writer Milap Milan Zaveri throws complete caution to the wind. Gems like “You [English people] just ruled our land. As an Indian, I’m here to rule your hearts” or “I’m somebody who can get anybody but I don’t want anybody other than your body” and “You’ll get double but he’ll get trouble” are a plenty. Should this not interest you, watch out for a neck-to-plunging-neck competition between Rautela and Bhatena’s tightest outfits.
There’s murder, double-crossing, plot twists, smart alec-y attempts and even a fist fight. And after the director is done with his titillation, there’s a very detailed explanation offered for all of it. Try as it might (and it really, really does) Hate Story 4 ends up more comedic than thriller.