Shaitan

We all have some inner demons which we keep suppressing inside us. Some of us succeed and some of us don't. Shaitan, the movie, is also a tale of some entities fighting their inner demons while they are involved in a web of events that unfold as a result of a self-inflicted horror on their lives. Shaitan is a contemporary cinematic experience that explores the dark sides of humans belonging to different backgrounds.

It's difficult to draw parallels of Shaitan with movies we have seen before. A road accident ala 'I Know What You Did Last Summer', a young girl staging her own kidnapping ala 'Khiladi' and wild youth ala 'Rung De Basanti' maybe, but that's all there is in comparisons. When the debutant director Bijoy Nambiar combines these stories with other intriguing elements of Shaitan, they become a completely innovative experience never told to the Indian audience before. Luckily, Shaitan does not rely solely on these events. It offers much more to the audience in story and not just story, it simply excels in other departments too. It does have some gruesome details of torture and substance abuse, hence, the A certificate, but it's definitely not a Rakht Charitra. At times, it even got the audience into fits of laughter.

Kalki, as Amy, is a mother-less teenaged daughter of a rich engineer, who despises her step mother. She befriends a gang of outrageous youth and together with them gets involved in a crime. Enter Rajiv Khandelwal (Aamir and Sujal Garewal fame) as the belligerent, underpaid, hard-hitting cop who is also going through troubled marriage. It's a gripping story that has been told very well. By far the best work in 2011. Bijoy drives straight from Mani Ratnam way of film making. Authentic and intense.

Shaitan features the group of youngsters as the main cast; however, it never expects the audience to sympathize with them. The treatment and screenplay is spellbinding right from the introduction of the cast. The film is very strong on technical grounds. Madhi has done a phenomenal job with the camera. Watch out for the scenes in the church, views from inside a beer bottle from the center of a cricket bat etc. Sound design and Kunal Shamra's background scores are simply brilliant. 'O Yaara' is a beautiful song. 'Hawa Hawaii' of Mister India has been featured in a unique way but good old 'Khoya Khoya Chand' on a gun fight sequence is just mind blowing. That gun fight sequence itself is the best part of the entire film and something that has never shown in Hindi cinema before.

On performances, Shaitan a power house. Kalki steals the show with her genuine portrayal of a disturbed child. She is unbelievably good in drugs scenes and in her portrayals of insensitivity. Rajiv is not far behind either, although, his role is lesser than Kalki's. Kashyap and Binoy have gathered a wonderful ensemble cast for this project. Pawan Malhotra, Shiv Pandit, Gulshan Devaiya and Neil Bhoopalam etc. have done their respective jobs with sincerity. Nitin of MTV is a pleasant surprise. The actress playing a cameo as the divorce lawyer in the court scene is remarkable.

The film does have some low points which could have been handled in a better way. The repetitive emergence of Kalki's mother's sequence could have been avoided at some places. It was overdone and not explained well, although shot with utmost appetizing camera work. Kirti Kulhari who plays young actress in the group could have done a better job. Even her character towards the second half, lacks the intensity it showed in the beginning sequences. The humor sequence of an informer's Nikah was unnecessary. The reason why Rajiv and his wife are having troubled marriage has not been explained. These things have little impact on the overall film and story but could have improved it further.

Anurag would not cast a KHAN in his productions and will probably never sign up Pritam for the music. Kashyap brand of Indian cinema will always be unique but is also expected to have a limited audience. He experimented with a debutant director for Udaan and created a masterpiece. He has almost done it again with another debutant director Bijoy and has created another modern day classic. Anurag has little left to prove to the world that he can make beautiful films. What he does still need is to prove is that his films can do wonders on the box office. Shaitan, is a colossal attempt, however, it's still unlikely to set box-office ablaze. Watch it before it's off the cinemas already.

I learned about this movie couple of weeks ago through a facebook page. The storyline caught my attention and decided to watch it.and am glad i did.It is dark,dramatic and a bit of humor.I had to mention humor because it wasn't like those comedy scenes that you find in other Bollywood films.It made sense and that went with the story.'Shaitan' is realistic in every sense.

Movie has five main characters and the whole story revolves around the 'events' that they did.It shows the life of 5 young friends who is living life like hell.They drink,they shop lift,they fool around,pretty much everything that makes you feel alive.But a bit too much adrenalin rush followed by some unwise decisions turns their life around.

I absolutely loved the cast.Especially Kalki Koechlin and Rajeev Khandelwal.The direction was different and amusing.Although it was directed by Bejoy Nambiar, one can really see the hands of Anurag Kashyap behind this film.Its also said that this is an upgraded version of Kashyap's 'Paanch' which actually has to go through a lot of trouble with the sensor boards because 'it was too dark'.'Shaitan' has everything that i love in a movie.and i am so glad that they didn't destroy it with the cheesy songs and dances.I expect to watch more like these from Bollywood. Such movies can create a respectful place for Bollywood In Indian Cineam.

"There Will be Blood" actor Daniel Day-Lewis once said, "I suppose I have a highly developed capacity for self-delusion, so it's no problem for me to believe that I'm somebody else."Indeed every mortal has an aspect of self delusion hidden within themselves which is reflected under the spell of specific situations.Every religion believes in the existence of Shaitan within us and we are just wearing mask for the peace of "cultured" society.The concept of God was thus created to give a positive direction to irrational mortals. Shaitan,the directorial debut of Bijoy Nambier under safe umbrella of Anurag Kashyap who is one of the pioneers of Dark movies in Indian cinema talks about existence of Shaitan in this god fearing society. The story involves five youngster from various backgrounds bonded through friendship.The friend circle comprises of Gulshan Devaiya playing the role of KC, a rich brat and a non-conformist living on the edge of reality.A parsi pervert (resembles Fattu of Paanch) Zubin played by Neil Bhopalam,Tanya (played by Kriti Kulhari) an upcoming film actress and a model, then Amy superbly played by Kalkie Koechlin.Amy is the disturbed daughter of a rich NRI father (Played by Rajit Kapoor)who is yet to accept her mother's death.Strangely her mother was a psychic patient who in her self-destructive mode tried to kill young Amy. Amy in her psychotic dilemma loves her mother and at the same time trying to come out of her mother's death web.The gang comes to full circle with Divyanshu sahu aka Dash (striking debut by Shiv Pandit) who is a drug peddler and a coffee shop waiter.Dash is connected to the whole group with the element of Lucy in the sky with diamonds.The friends gang with Screw rules faces an accident in a moment of ecstasy and thus follows the series of crime one after the other while they go into the self- delusional mode.With a dejavu of Paanch the young spirited minds came to terms with their inner Shaitan (satan). To solve the crime a self righteous cop Mr Mathur (played brilliantly and confidently by Rajeev Khandelwal) had been appointed. The cop is himself going through a turmoil in his personal life and while solving the case he finds a connect with the case and his life at a cognitive platform. As they youngsters and the cops life intertwined there are thousands of questions towards society, morality and inner devil raised in a subtle manner that forms the crux of the brilliant story. Anurag Kashyap is a brilliant film maker who understands cinema and gives break to brilliant new directors. Bijoy Nambier like Kashyap pens a unapologetic amoral characters who are reflection of today's rich youth who have no respect for anyone's life. Without going into any morality Nambier simple tells the story of a devil mind in a unique fashion. It is his execution that elevates the story to another plain and with a brilliant technical team he almost created a neo-realistic masterpiece. There are numerous sequence which deserves accolades specially the "khoya khoya chand" sequence which is one of the best executed sequences in recent times. With slow motion he plays beautifully with time and space while there is a background score of Khoya khoya chand. The scene where the Negros are firing Rajeev Khandelwal and instead shoots the German lady has an unique sexuality attached to it.The effect of hallucinogenic drug leading to the hallucination of Amy with her dead mother is a masterpiece execution specially the bathtub sequence towards the climax is a master stroke as real mixes with hallucination. The usage of geometric shapes within the narrative shows Nambier's eye for detailing and understanding of cinema. Apart from Nambier credit should be given to A Shreekhar Prasad for editing and Madhi for cinematography.The usage of light is captivating and meaningful.Nambier played with light to show the catharsis within Amy towards the end and also tried to portray The cop as anti-devil which is reflected by the scenes where the cop is standing with bright background light compared to the darkness in the same frame. There are plenty of situations where the camera and editing had the potential to compete with any world cinema.Moving to the music and lyrics each of the songs are appropriately placed in the narrative with the wordings taking the story forward. Dialogues of the film are cleverly written. Without going overboard they are kept short,crisp thus having an impact. The sequence between the commissioner and the cop is well written where the commissioner explains the difference between "sach" and "sachai". Nambier should also be applauded for inducing dark humour in the otherwise disturbing story. The flashback within flashback with a cameo done by Rajat Barmecha (of Udaan fame) will bring the house down. Also some witty one liners like "what will you call a moving vibrator? Dil-doh pagal hai" provides moments of laughter for the cine goers. The casting director did a tremendous job as each one of them gave a powerhouse performance. Rajeev Khandelwal stole each scene he was present in. Like a chameleon he went into the character of the Moral upright cop fighting with his own self as he tries to solve the case as well as his personal crisis.Kalki Koechlin as usual gave a superb performance as disturbed Amy coming to terms with her existence. The whole gang which comprises of new comers (Neil Bhopalam,Shiv Pandit,Gulshan Devaiyya,Kriti Kulhari) are all competent actors who have the potential to rock the industry. Veterans like Pawan Malhotra (as the politically incorrect commissioner) and Rajit Kapoor (helpless rich father of Amy) are the pillars of the brilliant ensemble supporting cast. Overall Shaitaan is another milestone in Indian cinema. One wouldn't expect it to be a blockbuster but it will be lapped up by it's target niche audience. More movies of this kinds need to be made in India. Take a bow Anurag Kashyap, Bijoy Nambier and the whole team.

Shaitan, when i first heard of the title i thought it was was weird. Anurag, the producer has always been associated with different cinema, some great (Udaan), some quite bad (No Smoking) and some weird (Dev D). I thought that this would also be in the later category of weird. But I was curious, I wanted to check it out. Some subconscious inside me was telling me that this is gonna be good. Well my subconscious was spot on. This is one film that is not to be missed. To all my international friends who think bollywood is all about song and dance will sit up to this movie. On the downside this movie is not for everyone. The old and the still not adult category may not like it. It has some disturbing shots but are actually a piece of art. This is what cinema is all about, The ART. The film excels in all the departments, both on and off the camera. screenplay and direction are of the highest quality, cinematography and editing is breathtaking, background score is superb and the music is in sync with the film. The film has an ensemble cast and each and every character shines in their respective roles. Very good characterization also helps in their performance. This film like Udaan has a long long way to go. Everuone like it or not, But do WATCH IT

The movie as I guessed earlier, is a revamped version of Anurag Kashyap directorial debut (which is still in the claws of Indian Censor Board) "Paanch" starring Kay Kay Menon.And now after almost a decade of his first yet unreleased movie, Anurag Kashyap producing this movie and getting it through the censor board without any cuts is a good slam to the Indian Censor Board. Clearly the movie is more intense and dark than Paanch. The movie is a way more profane with mild to severe abuses, implicit sex and nudity, and explicit violent scenes. And yet the movie has passed without a cut (showing a fact that censorship has improved a lot).

The movie is almost perfect on cinematic aspects. Casting and Direction is flawless.Cinematography is something best I have seen so far. Every scene is shot in the ultra stylish way leading to a brilliant story telling.Music and background score adds a new dimension to the movie.

First half of the movie is extremely engaging and entertaining, the second half lacks a bit by predictable turns and twists.

All the subplots of the movie like their characters are very strong take it as subtle love story of Rajeev Khandelwal (So graceful on the screen) or the one with Amy's mother, every character has its own story to tell and they tell it in their own ultra stylish way.

The "Shubhu" cameo (By someone who has done commendable job in AK's last produced movie) and Nikhil Chinnapa add the surprise factor to the movie.

Yet again a brilliant piece of cinema by Anurag Kashyap Production and kudos to Bijoy Nambiar.