Kasoor

Kasoor (guilt) is a movie from the Bhatt camp of bollywood who shamelessly steals stories from the Hollywood movies and put them before the ignorant Indian audience by Indianizing their milieu and characters. Kasoor (2001) is one such movie only which is a clear-cut rip off from the Hollywood thriller, Jagged Edge (1985). However the movie is well-made and entertaining right from the start to the finish.

This is the story of a young and gorgeous female lawyer who is trapped by a criminal through his sweet talks and fake love. The emotional lady, working in good faith, and fascinated by the charms of the cunning criminal, commits the error of mixing her personal life with the professional one, falls into the love of the prince-charming who has been charged for the murder of his wife and quite naturally, performs the job of his defence lawyer, not by her brains but by her heart, seeking wholehearted help of her best buddy and finally gets her lover-cum-client acquitted. The truth comes out before her afterwards only.

I do not put this movie into the mystery genre because there is little doubt about at least the identity of the murderer. Instead, I put it under the category of court-room dramas because it's the scenes of the court-room only which make the movie a thoroughly interesting and entertaining one and keep the viewer glued to the screen throughout. The entry and exit of different supporting characters in the court-room drama add spice to it. Since the central character of the movie is an emotional lady who can be won over by passionate love, there is ample doz of romance and emotions too for the viewers.

Mahesh Bhatt, the writer (?) and Vikram Bhatt, the director have adapted the plot of Jagged Edge quite skillfully for the Indian audience. They have been ably supported by the cinematographer (Praveen Bhatt), the dialogue-writer (Girish Dhamija) and the performers.

Lisa Ray's dialogues have been dubbed in the voice of someone else, but this gorgeous lady has infused life into the role of the intelligent but emotional lady-lawyer whose sentiments make her err. Aftab Shivdasani has done the job of the accused quite admirably and at least in the scenes filled with love and delicate sentiments, he is just superb. Apoorva Agnihotri has underplayed the role of the heroine's best pal, nicely. In the movies of Bhatt Camp, the supporting cast is more or less the same (like permanent labourers) and they perform according to the need of the plot and as instructed by the director. However, Ashutosh Rana stands out with his first rate performance in the role of the investigating officer. In fact, the first 30-40 minutes of the movie belong to him only and it's his performance which makes the viewer to go through the rest of the movie.

Nadeem-Shravan did not get any award for the music of this movie which is definitely an injustice to them because the music (containing the very very meaningful and touching lyrics of Sameer) is soul-comforting and memorable. The album contains six songs and all six are excellent (the first two being outstanding in my opinion) - 1. Kitni Bechain Hoke Tumse Mili, 2. Jo Meri Rooh Ko Chain De Pyar De, 3. Kal Raat Ho Gayi Mulaqaat Ho Gayi, 4, Dil Mera Tod Diya Usne Bura Kyun Manoon, 5. Mohabbat Ho Na Jaaye, 6. Koi To Saathi Chaahiye. If not for the story, the movie can be watched for the songs themselves.

I had watched this movie in the year of its release, i.e., 2001 and recently I watched it again on internet. The viewers who have not seen Jagged Edge, will find it quite interesting. And even if you have watched the Hollywood movie but you are a melody lover and like high-intensity court-room dramas (like me), you will find this watch a satisfactory one for sure.

Vikram Bhatt is a genius his directing skills are wonderful and he really knows how to get his scriptwriters Mahesh Bhatt is awesome and the dialogues delivered by Girish Dhamija for Ashutosh Rana are simply wonderful the songs by Nadeem-Shravan are out of this world especially "Kitna behchan hoke" so beautifully sung i loved this thriller in every way and nowadays even though Vikram Bhatt is making crappy movies but you have to appreciate him for the thrillers he made 5 years ago like Raaz and Dastak even though he makes crappy movies like Elaan and worst of them all Jurm he was still a good thriller and has talent to make these types of thrillers he just needs to give them a different genre that's all they'll be good and people will just say that's another Vikrsm Bhatt movie but at least they'll look at it as if it were a different movie Kasoor was amazing and well more movies like these should be made often

Kasoor is a step outside the norm for the hindi film indusrty. Refreshingly intelligent and beautifully directed Kasoor is a must see movie. Excellent acting from both leads who were both relatively new to Bollywood. The suspense was intense as was the character portrayed by Aaftab Shivdassani. Liza Ray's voice seems a bit awkward but her acting make up for it. The musical score was surprisingly different. The tracks were different from the usual romantic ballads. The atmosphere of professionalism is apparent. The movie is better suited for viewers with refined tastes as this movie is more subtle than the average hindi flick. A thriller to the last second people who don't usually like Indian movies will like this one.

Well, to start off I really enjoyed this movie...coz I like thrillers,with good music and romance intertwined...and Kasoor scores in all three areas...the movie is certainly NOT original,but who cares? It blends all the ingredients of a Bollywood movie, with fine performances from all actors...Lisa Ray(though her voice is dubbed)looks convincing and beautiful at the same time...she is sure to remain in the minds and hearts of all youngsters,courtesy Kasoor. Aftab is surprisingly good too, and enacts his role to the T. Wonder what's happened to him off late? He brings out the soft spoken,romantic expressions with that deceptive hue to his character with elan. In supporting roles,Irrfan and Ashutosh Rana are good as usual.

Where Kasoor beats the other regular Bollywood thrillers is that it manages to hold the suspense till the end...the hints and clues are subtly,deftly woven into the storytelling without going over the top. It sure drags on in the middle with the court sequences,and could have beeen curtailed by 20 mins or so. But hey, who's expecting flawlessness like say Christopher Nolan?

Music is really impressive, the romantic tracks are sure to keep you humming hours after you've watched it!

All in all. a good entertainer...so go for it!

'Kasoor' is the latest movie from the Bhatt camp and is the remake of the 1985 Hollywood thriller 'Jagged Edge' like most of Vikram Bhatt's movies. Surprisingly, 'Kasoor' is a mediocre remake of 'Jagged Edge' if not very bad.

Aftab Shivdasani plays the role that Jeff Bridges plays in the original of a scheming husband and Lisa Ray plays the role of Glenn Close in the original, and that of a lawyer. Aftab and Lisa were pretty good in their acting. Lisa was superb especially in the courtroom sequences. But sadly, Lisa Ray was dubbed by Divya Dutta who also has a guest appearance in the movie. Apoorva Agnihotri had nothing to do. Ashutosh Rana and Irrfan Khan were okay. Vishwajeet Pradhan and Sucheta Pausche were adequate.

'Kasoor' scores well in the music department. 'Zindagi Ban Gaye Ho Tum' being the best track in the whole film. Cinematography could've been better, especially during the coutroom sequences. Editing seemed slow and boring. Direction was pretty good. Watch it if you want a chill down your spine.