Talaash Hindi Movie Wiki



Talaash: The Answer Lies Within adalah sebuah film horor psikologi India tahun 2012 yang ditulis dan disutradarai oleh Reema Kagti.Film tersebut diproduksi oleh Excel Entertainment dan Aamir Khan Productions. Film tersebut dibintangi oleh Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor dan Rani Mukerji dalam peran-peran utama dan Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vivan Bhatena, Rajkummar Rao, Shernaz Patel dan Sheeba. Nov 30, 2012 Talaash movie is a psychological thriller and revolves around a cop, a housewife and a prostitute get entangled in a mystery that links their lives in unexpected ways. Seeing reflections of Mumbai.

Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. Director: Reema Kagti. Writer(s): Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti Country: India. Year: 2012 “Talaash” on Amazon. Director Reema Kagti takes on a genre rarely seen in Bollywood movies – a mystery thriller with neo-noir motifs.

Making a quality movie is an art in itself. Sometimes the movie have so strong entertainment quotient that the rest of its attributes are not considered. For example, the Salman Khan movies (recent few releases) provides pure entertainment, hence rest of the factors become minor there. And the love of the people makes them super hit. However there are a few actor who are considered as choosy and their movies are being awaited eagerly. For example, the work of Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan… to name a few.

Movie:
Producers:Ritesh Sidhwani, Aamir KhanFarhan Akhtar
Director:
Reema Kagti
Written By:Farhan Akhtar (Dialogs), Anurag Kashyap (Additional Dialogs)
ScreenPlay & Story:Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar
Musician:Ram Sampath
Cinematography:K. U. Mohanan
Editor:Anand Subaya
Studio:Excel Entertainment, Aamir Khan Productions
Distributed by:Reliance Entertainment
Released On:30 November 2012
Starring:Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Raj Kumar Yadav, Shernaz Patel, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vivek Madan, Vivan Bhatena, Pariva Pranati, and others…

Recently, a suspence crime thriller named Talaash, starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor in lead roles is released. It made headlines for various reasons. From the under promotion, to the suspence about the story, to Aamir’s get-up as a cop (with mustaches) to many other speculations like whether Aamir should work in such movie after giving a Television show like Satyamev Jayate! In democracy you are free to express your views about other’s decisions and same way others are free to take their own decisions; so let us not discuss that, but try to give you our personal reviews for the movie.

Wikipedia

In an interview Zoya Akhtar (one of the story/screenplay writer) mentioned that she heard about some strange incidents at a certain place; which made her to think a similar story and bring it at the silver screen. She (with her brother Farhaan, Reema Kagti and Aamir Khan – who in various different department supported her) prepre the final stuff for the director Reema Kagti to work on. Reema did her job brilliantly.

The story revolves around a high profile case. Film star Armaan Kapoor. He was self driving a car (he usually doesn’t like to self drive, by the way) and passing through a place near by a red-light area. Clearly the road and the area he is passing by are not on his way from his studio to his home (where he was expected to going). Suddenly something happened and his car was in the wrong direction. It jumped into the sea, breaking the fencing wall. The car was sunk and Armaan who stuck inside was declared dead. It was late night when it happened and the police officer on the night petroling Inspector SurjanSingh Shekhavat came to oversee the site. He will be the in charge of this high profile case which will be under the media nose (due to association of a celebrity with the same). Sub Inspector Devvrat Kulkarni will be assisting him.

However the case was looking like a suicide at first, as the eye witnesses saw nothing else coming in the way of the car, nor any other fellow found travelling with Armaan. His family was in the deep shock. As there were no traces found that whether he had any problem with anyone else which could have lead to this incident. Surjan found that the car drove away to the sea in a way that if the driver saw someone (or something) in the middle of the road and he tried saving him/her/it. And in order to do that Armaan lost control of the car and met with the accident.

In the red light area, a pimp named Shashi was found to have some large amount of money the same night. He was living with a former prostitute, to whom he purchased from a madam running a bing prostitution house. When Tehmur (a kind of assistant to Shashi) came to their home, she spoke something which irk the temper of Shashi and later (once Tehmur gone) he beats her on the same topic.

Inspector Shekhavat have his own problems too. We learn that he have lost his only son Karan before few years. They went for an outing and his son came to them (Surjan and his wife Roshani) to get permission to let him wander around. After getting permission from the parents Karan and his friend was wandering around and they ride a speed boat. As they couldn’t control it they met with an accident and fall in the deep waters. Surjan tried but was able to save Karan’s friend only. These memories keep haunting to him and his wife both. His wife Roshani was seeing a psychiatrist and Surjan has developed insomnia. He was unable to sleep at night. Which make him petroling in the night and keep an eye on the events happened in his area.

Mr. and Mrs. Shekhavat have a neighbour named Mrs. Bilimoria, who came to their home when Roshani was unpacking. She then send Roshani to kitchen for some stuff and found the photo of Karan. She show affection and love to the photograph and we gotta know that she somehow knows Karan!!!

On his quest to solve the case of Armaan’s death, Surjan meet a prostitute named Rosy. She land him a clue regarding one of the missing piece. Surjan found that she can be helpful to him during his investigation.

Who is Rosy and why she helped Surjan Singh Shekhavat (aka Suri)? How Mrs. Bilimoria gotta know Karan? Will Suri and Roshani get out of the painful life they live? Will Suri be able to solve the case of the film star’s death? Will there be any other mystery to unfold and resolve?

A lot of questions…. All can be answered by watching the movie. As it is a suspense thriller we don’t want to provide any spoilers here. The screenplay and story are good. Though, lead to some superstitions some may or may not like it. It is nonetheless good as a thriller. If to talk about the acting Aamir plays his part fluently and efficiently. Rani Mukerji is just perfect for the Role of Roshni. Nawazuddin is excellent. See his body language and you will see his range. One of the most memorable scene he did was his escape from the train station. Kareena looks glamorous and plays her part well. Rajkumar Yadav does his work. Shernaz Patel is convincing. Reema and Zoya both did well in their areas. The songs are failed creating any stunning effect, but the background score is good. The sets and locales are authentic. The guy playing Shashi is convincing. In a comparatively short role of Armaan’s friend, the cold blooded businessman, the actor who played it, did well. In the initial scenes of the movie, however you will be able to pick that this is the real locale and this is the set; which is slight disappointing.

Overall, a nice movie with good performances and direction with good screenplay and writing. The movie have more positive then the negatives making it a good watch.

Related reading for you:

Hindi Movie Talaash Full Movie

Talaash: The Answer Lies Within

Director: Reema Kagti

Writer(s): Farhan Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti

Country: India

Year: 2012

Director Reema Kagti takes on a genre rarely seen in Bollywood movies – a mystery thriller with neo-noir motifs. Inspired by such films as Joon-ho Bong’s “Memories of Murder” and Roman Polanski’s classic, “Chinatown” (Source: Reuters), “Talaash” takes us to the dark alleys of Mumbai where “a smile doesn’t reach the eye.” Everybody there has dark secrets and sorrows, struggling to find small joys and hope in their daily lives.

The movie is fast paced from the beginning, and just after the opening song we see a car crash and plunge into the sea. Police retrieve the car and identify the victim as Bollywood super star, Armaan Kapoor. Inspector Surjan Singh Sekhawat (Aamir Khan) investigates the case, unveiling deepening mysterious circumstances. The investigation leads to the Red Light district, a place where people are unwilling to cooperate with the law enforcement. Only one prostitute, Rosie (Kareena Kapoor), helps Surjan in his quest. We also learn what torments this no-nonsense, hard, seemingly emotionless cop. He and his wife, Roshni (Rani Mukerji), recently lost their eight year old son Karan in a boating accident. The family is broken, and Roshni feels that she lost her husband along with her son. Surjan is drowning in guilt, not sleeping, and not letting anyone get through to him. Roshni seeks answers in the spiritual world through a medium who stumbles into their lives. Meanwhile, Surjan tries to find his own answers in Rosie’s company. “Is anyone really happy? Are you happy?” he asks. “I have my moments,” she answers. A third subplot also develops in which Tehmur (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an underdog henchman and limp son of a prostitute, is the central character. Overseeing and overhearing small details of the whole murder case, he schemes his own little plan hoping to get out of his miserable reality.

Kareena Kapoor beautifully plays seductive Rosie. Reema Kagti “Talaash”

The director masterfully blends all three stories with quick and smooth transitions from scene to scene, and the brilliant soundtrack (by Ram Sampath) glues the visual and the emotional elements together. The main actors do the superb job expected from such stars. It was my first film seeing Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and I was very impressed. His performance as Tehmur brought that subplot to such emotional heights that it became my favorite part of the story. Apart from the acting, the cinematography (by K. U. Mohanan) and editing (by Anand Subaya) deserve separate acknowledgment too. Rapidly changing scenes are orchestrated in a way that doesn’t confuse the spectator (that can easily happen developing a few different subplots at the same time), but actually adds to the tension and suspense. The unconventional camera movements and angles, the motif of neo-noir genre, also add a lot to the viewing experience (Source: Wikipedia). The camera seems to be hidden sometimes, secretly following the dark deeds of characters. The darkest character also became my favorite, Mumbai itself. It lures you with its flashy lights and fancy façade while its inside is corrupt and ugly. It’s a sin city like Los Angeles in “Chinatown”.

Camera follows the characters from hidden places, faraway angles, to increase suspense. The medium woman at Roshni and Surjan’s home. Reema Kagti “Talaash”

We see characters plotting their dark deeds from far away. This camera work makes spectator feel as if he is secretly following the events. Reema Kagti “Talaash”

The main plot of the film, the mystery crime, is very captivating, but the culmination is rather disappointing. It has been extensively discussed in many other reviews (Example: A Potpourri of Vestiges).

I am glad that I stumbled upon Film Impressions blog, and I was compelled to re-watch the film before reviewing it. The second time watching was more pleasurable, noticing the subplots and all the cinematographic details mentioned previously, rather than the detective side of the story. Deepa Deosthalee’s essay on “Talaash” in Film Impressions mostly focuses on the subplot about Surjan and his struggle with the loss of a son. She compares the film to Nanni Moretti’s Italian drama, “The Son’s Room”, discussing the similarity in the psychological journey that the couple must take to recover from such a horrible loss. This essay truly shines a light on nuances of the film that might be lost during the first viewing.

Watch

Characters are very memorable – like madame in the Red Light District. Reema Kagti “Talaash”

Talaash Hindi Movie Review

(This section contains spoilers)

An element prevalent throughout the film is water. Water is an essential element in every religion of the world, as well as Hinduism. It is part of many religious rituals, associated with both birth and death. In the film, water primarily represents death: Armaan Kapoor drowns in his car, Karan drowns in a boating accident, and a few more water related deaths. Only in the end, when Aamir Khan’s character takes a shower after performing a burial ritual, does water have a purifying element to it.

Surjan taking a shower – for the first time in the movie water is not deadly, but purifying. Reema Kagti “Talaash”

The mirror is another element that I found interestingly omnipresent when Kareena Karpoor’s character appears. That led me to look for a connection between mirrors and ghosts, and my search turned up the term spectrophilia. The term is defined as deriving “sexual pleasure and arousal from ghosts and spirits”. (Source: Dr Mark Griffiths) Firstly, ghosts in India are called bhoot or bhut. These are beings that could not move on to reincarnation or the afterlife due to violent deaths, unsettled matters or lack of proper funerals. This definition fits Rosie perfectly; and though she is not an evil succubus, she certainly holds sexual appeal for Surjan. As spectrophilia is defined, it is often the image or reflection in a mirror that arouses a person. (Source: Phantasy Publishing) This minor element makes the ghost-story part of the film more thoughtful and detailed.

The English translation of the word “talaash” is “search”, and all characters in this movie search for different things: the secret behind a murder case, peace of mind after a tragic loss, the lost connection with a spouse, revenge for an unjust deed, or simply hope in seemingly hopeless life circumstances. As the noir genre demands, not all characters find for what they are seeking. Some do, and some disappear in the “city of lost souls”. The title of the movie encourages looking for those answers within; however, the end of the film refutes this notion by taking more of an “X-Files” approach to the topic…“The Truth Is Out There”. Even though the director explains that the “shocker” ending is a metaphor, it would require a more subtle approach to be sufficiently metaphoric. Many reviews of “Talaash” condemn the ending, but I would just say that the choice of ending is the difference between the good movie it is and the great movie it could have been.

  • Luang Prabang Film Festival Goes Online - November 2, 2020
  • The 21st Japan-Filmfest Hamburg goes Online - August 16, 2020
  • Memories of My Body - June 26, 2020