Its a rare occurence for me to actually look forward to watching a particular movie. I am a movie buff for sure as I end up watching a good number of movies in a month. Due to the sort of repute that had been built up by Vishal Bhardwaj with movies like Omkara and Kaminey, I was waiting for the release of '7 Khoon Maaf' with crossed fingers. The mere fact that Priyanka Chopra was going to enact the role of Suzanna in the movie was enough of a reason for me to be excited. Based on Ruskin Bond's novel 'Suzanna's seven husbands', the story is about a woman who ends up killing 7 husbands (Neil Nitin Mukesh, John Abraham, Irfan Khan, Annu Kapoor, Aleksandr Dyachenko, Naseeruddin Shah) one after other in search of love. While Ruskin Bond's novel was well appreciated by critics and masses, Vishal Bhardwaj wasn't quite able to impress audiences.
Priyanka Chopra is the finest actress in Bollywood right now but her portrayal of Suzanna is theatrical and incomplete at times. Suzanna is a really deep character and while Priyanka does act well, her range of emotions fall short in certain scenarios. Nonetheless, it is a brilliant showcase for her to display her acting talents for which she should be applauded. As was expected, Naseeruddin Shah, Irfan Khan and Annu Kapoor shine in their performances. John Abraham has hardly been given any dialogues and his limited acting potential is frankly disappointing. Neil Nitin Mukesh isn't too impressive in his acting skills but does put some genuine effort in the character.
The surprises in the movie are the russian actor Aleksandr Dyachenko whose portrayal of the two timing husband is refreshing and Vivaan Shah's (Naseeruddin Shah's real life son) acting talents are pleasantly surprising. Vivaan essays the character of an orphan child who is adopted and cared for by Priyanka Chopra's character. His character narrates the story and the young actor shines in the role of the one man who loves Suzanna unconditionally and secretly. The talents of Konkona Sen Sharma (Plays the role of Vivaan Shah's characters wife) and Usha Uthup (Plays Suzanna maid) are wasted in the film.
The movie doesn't give any space for Suzanna's character to reflect upon her actions and decisions. This leaves a weird feeling among audiences about Suzanna's personality and character. Certain scenes and sequences involving Irfan Khan and Naseeruddin Shah's storylines are intense and mentally stirring while many scenes are lifeless or simply unnecessary. Vishal Bhardwaj's attempt to recreate a fantastic story created by master storyteller Ruskin Bond is quite daring. However, he hasn't been able to do justice to the story making you wonder if this story needed a more experienced film maker or a virtually flawless actress like Meryl Streep. If you love Priyanka Chopra, you can sit through this movie comfortably or else you are better off saying 'Maaf karo' to '7 Khoon Maaf'.
