Rating – ***1/2 (3.5/5)
Crime thrillers, when done well seldom don’t connect and when you add the spin of it being a 24-hour story; the urgency, tension, and edge-of-the-seat drama with twists and turns just make it more delicious. It is a tightrope to walk on, though. Director Kookie Gulati, who hasn’t quite struck gold with his directorial ventures perhaps has now found his calling after experimenting with big-scale films.
His latest film, Visfot showcases a gripping tale of two parallel worlds literally and metaphorically: on the one hand, you have Shoeb (Fardeen Khan), an ex-criminal, who is still fighting to entirely get rid of his past living life with meagre means, has an ailing and hallucinating mother, (Sheeba Chaddha) but also a beautiful and loyal girlfriend, Lucky (Krystle D’souza). On the other hand, we have a successful pilot, Aakash (Riteish Deshmukh), who has worked almost too hard to provide his family with all the luxuries even if it means at the cost of losing time with them. And hence, his wife, Tara (Priya Bapat), who craved for his attention and love once chooses to cheat on him and find love with another man, Javed (Arjun Aneja). The only thread that holds them together in a certain manner is their son, Parth aka Paddy.
Two worlds that belong to opposite ends of the ecosystem find themselves colliding in unanticipated ways further leading to a crazy turn of events, chaos and a bucket-load of twists and turns which make up for a cat-and-mouse chase till the end. Gulati manages to showcase the claustrophobia of Shoeb’s lifestyle expertly by taking long takes in the small house that he lives in with his mother. The walls are worn out, the rooms are small, and to add to that, one of his rooms catches fire as well.
The extreme close-ups help you feel a sense of discomfort with Shoeb’s life thus empathising with him even when his decisions might not seem morally correct. On the other hand, Aakash’s luxurious lifestyle and his calm demeanour take a sharp turn when he finds out his wife is cheating on him – and courtesy of Riteish Deshmukh’s fantastic performance, you empathise with him as well even when he is angry, screaming and perhaps doing things he otherwise wouldn’t.
Visfot is titled not keeping in mind an explosion about a bomb but works as a metaphor for the explosion that is caused in these two parallel lives with a tying thread. The sense of consistent urgency is also showcased well with the frantic cinematography that never gets jarring but instead keeps you puzzled. A special mention should also be given to the team who take care of the continuity, which is perhaps the most difficult thing to do when you are shooting for a 24-hour story film. Not for once do you feel that these scenes were shot across months maybe and does keep you hooked with the impression as to how much of a 360-degree turn the protagonists’ lives are taking in just about 24 hours.
Apart from Deshmukh, Fardeen Khan is on a roll like no other. You could have easily and conveniently cast Khan in Deshmukh’s character thinking that might be better suited for him but instead, they chose to break the mould and anti-cast him as a rugged Muslim man was a brave and applaudable call where Khan justifies it really well. Priya Bapat does have an interesting character arc to work with but despite having something that seems fascinating on paper, it doesn’t give her much scope to play around with.
But it is Krystle D’Souza, who might come in as a surprise package for those who aren’t familiar with her acting chops already. As Lucky, not only is she the only certain moral compass in the entire film, but she can take the smaller things and accentuate them expertly as well. As a loyal partner to Shoeb, her love for him always feels heartfelt and genuine, and one slight glance at the beginning of the film where she looks at a child and smiles is enough to establish that she loves and adores children. D’Souza announces her arrival at the movies with aplomb. The rest of the cast is good as well but once again, what looked like it could have been great on paper turns out to be a half-baked role for Seema Biswas’ Acid Tai.
Visfot suffers to a certain extent with these half-baked ideas and a momentary rush towards proceedings where the mayhem caused in the climax does make an impact but the events building up to it, don’t quite make sense. But in the end, Visfot is a taut, gripping & well-performed crime thriller that manages to keep your eyeballs on the screen, making you guess the outcome and ultimately be entertained and wowed.