A twisted and gripping tale of power, love and deceit
REVIEW: All SRK followers and 90’s film buffs wouldn’t have missed watching his anti-hero outings like Darr (1993) and Anjaam (1994), each of which had been primarily based on the obsession with love and the willingness to go to any size to acquire what you need. Equally, the essential premise of ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein’—the title impressed by the long-lasting 90’s hit track from the identical style movie ‘Baazigar’— relies on William Shakespear’s Othello phrase “For she had eyes and selected me.”
When YKKA opens, one thing unhealthy has already occurred: Vikrant Singh Chauhan (Tahir Raj Bhasin) is in a dreadful scenario the place goons are always firing at him, and he tells himself as a narrator that as we speak is the day he dies. His personal account of his previous reveals what occurred to him and the way he ended up on this scenario. Set within the fictional city of Onkara situated someplace in Uttar Pradesh, Vikrant, an engineering graduate is desperately ready for a job supply letter from Bhilai. He fantasises about getting a easy job, shopping for a small home and a automobile, and residing a easy life together with his faculty sweetheart, Shikha Aggarwal (Shweta Tripathi Sharma). However life has one thing else destined for Vikrant, as Purva (Anchal Singh), the daughter of highly effective and ruthless politician Akheraj Awasthi Vidrohi (Saurabh Shukla), has had a watch on him since childhood. What occurs subsequent and the way cash, energy and girls damage a person’s life, in addition to the drastic measures he takes to reclaim it varieties the crux of the story. Thus, begins an exhaustive battle between paisa, taaqat aur pyaar, and there’s much more than what meets the attention.
After directing an engrossing crime fiction ‘Undekhi’, Sidharth Sengupta has returned with a well-crafted and intelligently scripted darkish thriller, which he has co-written with Anahata Menon and Varun Badola. YKKA packs plenty of motion and response into eight episodes which might be rather less than an hour. The screenplay creates a strain cooker-like ambiance wherein Vikrant is caught with Purva and his each transfer is being carefully watched. Each episode of the net collection has a distinct twist to it. By the tip of the episode, the writers depart you pondering, and also you shortly transfer on to the following episode, anticipating extra bother. Due to its editor Rajesh G Pandey’s flawless cuts, the collection by no means felt prefer it was dragging or going off the rails. Whereas the narrative is grim and intense, Vikrant’s fictional sequences of future prophecies and his childhood pal Golden (Anant Joshi) present some comedian reduction. Varun Badola deserves credit score for his snappy and witty dialogues.
The subplot of Vikrant’s household believing in Akheraj as their God is attention-grabbing, particularly his father Suryakant (Brijendra Kala), who works as an accountant at Akheraj’s workplace and has blind religion in him. Initially, Vikrant needed to take care of critical repercussions of their religion as a result of he lacked the authority to say “No”. Then, within the later episodes, Suryakant has a sudden change of coronary heart and decides to assist his son, which is each abrupt and unconvincing.
From the river ghats to dams and close by environment of a small city, the cinematography by Murzy Pagdiwala provides authenticity to the plot. Moreover, the picturesque places of Ladakh are superbly captured and a breeze to look at. The background music by Shivam Sengupta and Anuj Danait enhances the plot and enhances the impact. But it surely’s the title observe, a recreation of the Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol dance quantity, ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein’ by Anu Malik and Dev Kohli, which is extremely hummable, that sticks with you all through.
Other than a crisp script, YKKA boasts of strong performances. Tahir Raj Bhasin (who not too long ago performed Sunil Gavaskar in Kabir Khan’s ‘83’) is pleasant as trapped Vikrant who’s unable to flee. When he discovers that all the pieces in his life is falling aside, together with his real love, he makes the viewers empathise and sympathise together with his character’s claustrophobic situation. Tahir’s character arc is spectacular, and he pulls it off like a professional.
Among the many ladies, Shweta Tripathi efficiently manages to convey out the interior energy and vulnerability of her character, Shikha. Tahir and Shweta share nice chemistry on display, particularly within the scenes after they’re relationship in faculty. After showing in just a few Sri Lankan movies and Tollywood movies, Anchal Singh makes her OTT debut with this collection. She seems intimidating because the unforgiving Purva, who can go to any lengths to marry Vikrant. All through the collection, her actions converse louder than her phrases.
Saurabh Shukla’s portrayal of a cutthroat politician, Akheraj, ensures that you just despise him. He kills individuals with out hesitation, and relating to Purva, the apple of his eye, he is aware of no bounds. Surya Sharma convincingly performs Dharmesh, Akheraj’s dreadful henchman, whom he treats as if he’s his personal son. Surya has beforehand confirmed his versatility in comparable roles in net collection equivalent to ‘Undekhi’ and ‘Hostages’. Arunoday Singh enters late within the story, but he performs a major function in turning the tables. Brijendra Kala, Sunita Rajwar, Hetal Gada, Anant Joshi, among the many remainder of the forged lend good assist.
As producer-director-writer, Sidharth Sengupta presents a psychological drama that’s apparently crammed with twists, turns, and thriller trappings. The title, in addition to a number of interwoven tales, will undoubtedly conjure up photographs of SRK and his movies, like the long-lasting ‘palat palat’ sequence from ‘Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.’ Having stated that, in case you take pleasure in pulpy Bollywood thrillers from the 90s, ‘YKKA’ is a must-watch. (No Spoilers Forward!) Lastly, it leaves you wanting extra whereas additionally offering loads of foreshadowing for the following season.
