12-03-10
7 Khoon Maaf
7 Khoon Maaf
Release Date: February 18, 2011
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director, Music Director & Background Music: Vishal Bhardwaj
Producers: Vishal Bhardwaj & Ronnie Screwvala
Star CastPriyanka Chopra...... Susanna Anna-Marie JohannesJohn Abraham...... Jimmy StetsonNeil Nitin Mukesh...... Edwin RodriquesNaseruddin Shah...... Modhusudhon TarafdarIrrfan Khan...... Wasiullah KhanAnu Kapoor...... Keemat LalUsha Uthup...... MaidAleksandr Dyachenko...... Nicolai Vronsky
Lyricist: Gulzar & Ajinkya Iyer
Review:
After adapting Shakespeare in ‘Omkara’ and ‘Maqbool’¸ Vishal Bhardwaj has come up with another metamorphosis from text to tinsel. This time it’s ‘Susanna’s Seven Husbands’ by Ruskin Bond turned into ‘7 Khoon Maaf’. Vishal’s ‘Blue Umbrella’ is also an adaptation of a story by Bond. Bond also makes a guest appearance in teh film. ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ pertains to the mysterious lady called Susanna who ties the wedlock for as many as 07 times and each husband faces an untimely, unresolved death. The film is a sinister comedy depicting the same.
The movie opens with a couple of Buddha idols beside which lies a jet black revolver (Paradox!). Susanna places it on her temple. She slowly begins to squeeze the trigger, each micro-second tormenting her.
Suddenly BANG!!!
We see blood spatter on a wall. It slowly begins to flow downwards as music creeps in. (Courtesy: Screenplay of the film.)
Such a precise commencement raises the expectations of the spectators to the optimum. The film sustains this ambiance throughout, (sadly) even to the extent of obscurity. Let’s have a cursory glance at some of its pertinent aspects.
The story is narrated by Arun Kumar (addressed by Susanna as ‘sugar’ or her ‘chhota khargosh’) who is now Dr. Kumar, handling the case of Susanna’s (supposed) suicide. Arun opens up an album and identifies the photographs to satiate the curiosity of his wife (played by Vishal’s mascot: Konkana Sen). It is thorough this that the whole story is unfolded. It is a third person, omniscient, omnipresent narration but not an objective one.
One of the few most eye-catching traits of the film is its gripping cinematography. For instance, in the very first scene, the camera angles pinpoint the crestfallen expressions of Susanna, on the brink of suicide. Add to that, the duel between Goonga (a dumb servant) and Susanna’s first husband Rodriquez is powerfully shot. The scene in which Susanna strikes the huge bell, points towards her husband ‘for whom the bell tolls’. When her Russian hubby climbs down the well, it is shot in a way suggestive of fatality. In the second half, when Susanna’s house catches fire and the maid (interestingly, played by Usha Uthup) collapses on the floor, a huge portion of the ceiling falls on her. This scene is breathtakingly shot. However, cinematography fails to convince the death of a husband falling prey to a man eater.
The setting is understandably Gothic in style. For example, dark rooms, night scenes, bizarre deaths, barking dogs, crumbling houses etc. Watch ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ and you will realize why Bhardwaj is called the ‘Hitchcock of Hindi Films’. Unfortunately, this makes his dark film even confusingly darker.
The music is not as enchanting as has been the case with ‘Ishqiya’, ‘Kamineyy’ or ‘Omkara’. Excluding ‘Darling’ and ‘Bekaraa’, there is nothing worth-mentioning in the music section. However, the background score, at times, contributes to the mystery of the deaths. Apart from the cinematography and performances, the thing that appealed me the most in the film is the dialogues loaded with wit, black humor, repartee and profundity. For instance,
“Buraai zyada me hai. Aur zyada kabhi zyada nahi hota. … never… Hamesha kam hi hota hai. Jisne kam me jina sikh liya uske liye kuchh kam nahi hai.”
When Susanna is tracing a grey hair in her head and Arun asks what she is up to, she replies:
“Ek hai chhupa hua, jab bhi dhundhne ki koshish karti hun, kho jata hai kambakht.”
Isn’t it a metaphor for her fruitless husband-hunting? There is wordplay on ‘Beshkimati’ and ‘Kimat’ in the conversation with Inspector Kimat Lal. Read this universal truth:
“Unke nazariye se insaan saap se zyada zehrile aur khatarnak hote hai.”
When it comes to performances, I can’t help mentioning that Piggy Chops is THE perfect cast for the role of Susanna. Her scintillating performance is a benefit of doubt for this otherwise ambiguous film.
She convincingly portrays the transformation from Susanna Anna Johannes to Sultana to Sunaina and finally to Sister Susanna. In case of her husbands, there is a polar opposite range of performances in ascending order: from Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham to Naseeruddin Shah. Neil makes a sincere effort. John is a dwarf among such giant performers as Naseer and Irrfan. Anu Kapur is interesting as a silly, fumbling inspector, smitten by ‘Maadaam’ Susanna.
How about the treatment of the theme? Well. It goes without saying that Vishal’s movies are dark, sinister and always intriguing. In other words, they are cryptographic. The deaths of the husbands are rapidly wrapped up. Interestingly, I had read the short story and novella by Ruskin Bond and also the screenplay of the film before watching it. Then even I got baffled especially in the second half. Just imagine the condition of those who went for it with zero background information. No wonder the film couldn’t attract the first week crowds! This reminds me of the words of my favorite film critic Rajiv Masand:
“Boring isn’t a word you’d normally associate with a Vishal Bhardwaj film, but Saat Khoon Maaf seriously tests your patience.”
My final word: ‘7Khoon Maaf’ is exclusively for serious moviegoers; who have the patience and interest to demystify the film. For those who believe in ‘Entertainment for entertainment’s sake’, this film will prove to be a litmus test of human endurance.
- Jay Mehta
The story is narrated by Arun Kumar (addressed by Susanna as ‘sugar’ or her ‘chhota khargosh’) who is now Dr. Kumar, handling the case of Susanna’s (supposed) suicide. Arun opens up an album and identifies the photographs to satiate the curiosity of his wife (played by Vishal’s mascot: Konkana Sen). It is thorough this that the whole story is unfolded. It is a third person, omniscient, omnipresent narration but not an objective one.
One of the few most eye-catching traits of the film is its gripping cinematography. For instance, in the very first scene, the camera angles pinpoint the crestfallen expressions of Susanna, on the brink of suicide. Add to that, the duel between Goonga (a dumb servant) and Susanna’s first husband Rodriquez is powerfully shot. The scene in which Susanna strikes the huge bell, points towards her husband ‘for whom the bell tolls’. When her Russian hubby climbs down the well, it is shot in a way suggestive of fatality. In the second half, when Susanna’s house catches fire and the maid (interestingly, played by Usha Uthup) collapses on the floor, a huge portion of the ceiling falls on her. This scene is breathtakingly shot. However, cinematography fails to convince the death of a husband falling prey to a man eater.
The setting is understandably Gothic in style. For example, dark rooms, night scenes, bizarre deaths, barking dogs, crumbling houses etc. Watch ‘7 Khoon Maaf’ and you will realize why Bhardwaj is called the ‘Hitchcock of Hindi Films’. Unfortunately, this makes his dark film even confusingly darker.
The music is not as enchanting as has been the case with ‘Ishqiya’, ‘Kamineyy’ or ‘Omkara’. Excluding ‘Darling’ and ‘Bekaraa’, there is nothing worth-mentioning in the music section. However, the background score, at times, contributes to the mystery of the deaths. Apart from the cinematography and performances, the thing that appealed me the most in the film is the dialogues loaded with wit, black humor, repartee and profundity. For instance,
“Buraai zyada me hai. Aur zyada kabhi zyada nahi hota. … never… Hamesha kam hi hota hai. Jisne kam me jina sikh liya uske liye kuchh kam nahi hai.”
When Susanna is tracing a grey hair in her head and Arun asks what she is up to, she replies:
“Ek hai chhupa hua, jab bhi dhundhne ki koshish karti hun, kho jata hai kambakht.”
Isn’t it a metaphor for her fruitless husband-hunting? There is wordplay on ‘Beshkimati’ and ‘Kimat’ in the conversation with Inspector Kimat Lal. Read this universal truth:
“Unke nazariye se insaan saap se zyada zehrile aur khatarnak hote hai.”
When it comes to performances, I can’t help mentioning that Piggy Chops is THE perfect cast for the role of Susanna. Her scintillating performance is a benefit of doubt for this otherwise ambiguous film.
She convincingly portrays the transformation from Susanna Anna Johannes to Sultana to Sunaina and finally to Sister Susanna. In case of her husbands, there is a polar opposite range of performances in ascending order: from Neil Nitin Mukesh and John Abraham to Naseeruddin Shah. Neil makes a sincere effort. John is a dwarf among such giant performers as Naseer and Irrfan. Anu Kapur is interesting as a silly, fumbling inspector, smitten by ‘Maadaam’ Susanna.
How about the treatment of the theme? Well. It goes without saying that Vishal’s movies are dark, sinister and always intriguing. In other words, they are cryptographic. The deaths of the husbands are rapidly wrapped up. Interestingly, I had read the short story and novella by Ruskin Bond and also the screenplay of the film before watching it. Then even I got baffled especially in the second half. Just imagine the condition of those who went for it with zero background information. No wonder the film couldn’t attract the first week crowds! This reminds me of the words of my favorite film critic Rajiv Masand:
“Boring isn’t a word you’d normally associate with a Vishal Bhardwaj film, but Saat Khoon Maaf seriously tests your patience.”
My final word: ‘7Khoon Maaf’ is exclusively for serious moviegoers; who have the patience and interest to demystify the film. For those who believe in ‘Entertainment for entertainment’s sake’, this film will prove to be a litmus test of human endurance.
- Jay Mehta
