Hisss

First of all let me clear the buzz of HISSS being a foreign flick. No, its not a Hollywood film from any angle. Yes, it's reportedly been directed by a western name, Jennifer Lynch. But the name remains the only foreign touch in an otherwise totally Indian movie, which is more like a B class Bollywood film packaged and promoted well.

Secondly, yes the film is based on a HIT and interesting topic of an Ichhadhari Nagin but the overall result on the screen is not even close to what we have already seen in Reena Roy's NAGIN (1976) and Sridevi's NAGINA (1986) or even in its not so successful sequel NIGAHEN (1989). The film is just a collage of various graphical scenes without any good story build up or enjoyable musical soundtrack. Moreover the erratic background score further reduces the impact of its engrossing theme to the least.

Thirdly, if you are expecting a great computer graphics show in the movie displaying a human body's transformation into and out of a snake, then you are going to get disappointed in that section of the film too. The graphics used in HISSS are not bad but at the same time they also don't offer anything great or exceptional to enjoy. In fact watching ANACONDA once again would be a far better choice to opt, if you are really interested in watching the big snake movements in front of you.

In the acting arena, I was simply stunned to see two highly talented actors Irrfan Khan and Divya Dutta agreeing to do such strange kind of roles where they simply have nothing to do except showing their known faces on the screen. Especially, Why Irrfan opted for such kind of LOW in his otherwise famous career is simply beyond any logical explanation.

So after pulling down the movie in almost all its departments……what can be a possible merit of watching HISSS? That's the pleasure of watching the Sky-High Confidence of the girl called Mallika Sherawat. The conviction with which she portrays her role of a Ichhadhari Nagin is indeed commendable even when she is not speaking a single dialogue in the film. And further her amazingly daring GUTS to opt for all those nude body scenes and love-making scene with the snake is undoubtedly applaudable.

Truly speaking, even when the movie was completely a wash out for me in all aspects, still the girl managed to keep me hooked somehow with her unbelievable kind of confidence and a passionate performance. So if you are really interested in watching Mallika in the most daring act of her entire career then HISSS may work for you. Otherwise it would be better to watch the movie only after its DVD release.

Rating : 1.5 / 5 (0.5 more only for the confidence level of Mallika).

I went into this with friends wanting a fun "so bad it's good experience" but it can't even be that. There were a few good effects early on that I actually enjoyed but the movie quickly becomes incredibly boring. It's overall too boring to be "so bad it's good" and too bad to be genuinely good. Id avoid this one and watch Clash of the Titans(81) for a more enjoyable snake woman. I'd love to go in depth scene to scene to pick out every problem but the thought of sitting through it again makes me sleepy. If you want to watch it definitely see it with friends since they'll be much more entertaining.

I was interested in checking out 2010's "Hisss" mainly because it's an East Indian horror production ("Bollywood") and I've never seen an Indian horror flick. The plot has to do with a Hindu snake god coming to life in the form of a beautiful Indian woman (Mallika Sherawat) and preying upon the dastardly inhabitants of the slum city. A detective tries to solve the case (Irrfan Khan).

As noted in my title blurb, this is a gruesome movie but it's not really scary, at least not to me. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have points of interest. The first act features a dynamic sequence at a painting festival on the streets and it's so energetic and creative that it possesses a "Wow" factor, sort of like the innovative dancing scenes in "The Day the Fish Came out" (1967). Later there's a cool chase thru the village (on foot) between the snake woman and a snake charmer with the detective tagging along. There are some other flashes of genius.

Of course Mallika Sherawat is a gorgeous woman, Indian or otherwise, and she's featured in numerous stages of dress or undress, but it's Maya Gupta, as the detective's wife, whose beauty truly shines here, and she's fully clothed at all times (what's that tell ya?).

The film was shot in various areas of India (West coast, East coast, South-Central, etc.) and is a visual feast of India in all its glory or disgrace. The movie's interesting in this regard.

Another highlight is the score & soundtrack. Take, for instance, the compelling and rockin' score during the foot chase.

I also thought the effects were pretty well done. For instance, when the snake woman morphs into a half-snake, half-woman monster at the end it brought to mind Lin Carter's Thongor comics from the early 70s.

Unfortunately, the story's not all that compelling despite the occasional bursts of brilliance. It's also too gruesome for my tastes -- loads of gore and worse -- albeit nothing I can't handle. Plus the detective's stepmother is really annoying (but maybe that's the point).

The film runs 98 minutes.

GRADE: B-

A brilliant story plot ruined by the story writer who has no clue about this Indian myth. What a waste of lot of talents.

Sanjay Agnihotri Novelist.

Snake goddess takes on a human form to save its mate from a dying westerner who believes her essence will cure his disease. She roams around the city looking for her mate, causing mayhem on the way.

The movie is beautifully shot with cultural clues very different from that of west. You need to be raised with the kind of folk lore this movie is based on to appreciate the mood and its implications. There are some erotic scenes that involves semi nudity along the way.

There's kind of a ruthlessness in the scenes when the snake goddess makes her attack. It seems more violent than western movie's violence that's mostly based on gun shooting.

It's an interesting movie to watch, and also enjoy the atmosphere of India at the same time.