Dead (story) Line!

My review of:

DEADLINE, Sirf 24 Ghante.
Director: Tanveer KhanStar Cast:Konkana Sen SharmaIrfan KhanRajit KapoorSandhya MridulZakir HussainPrincey 'Jhanak' Shukla

** (2 Stars)

Dead (story) line.

If you expected anything from this film, you’ll be thoroughly sorry you ever did. Deadline, Sirf 24 Ghante, fails to do anything its trailer so thrillingly promises. What’s worse is to see someone as brilliant as Konkona Sen Sharma being utterly wasted as an actor. She has her moments, and gives quite a performance, but the real show stealer here is Sandhya Mridul. This pretty woman gives you one more genuine performance, something she’s earned a name for in the last few months.
The story is well conceptualized, but its making is terrible. Tanveer Khan should not experiment with writing his screenplays ever again. The dialogues remind one of an 80’s film, minus a scriptwriter.
Krish (Irfan Khan) and Roohi (Sandhya Mridul), lose their son, to a complicated heart problem, because they fail to pay the hospital on time. Held responsible is Dr. Viren Goenka (Rajit Kapoor), who they decide, needs to respect the value of a life in his profession. What ensues is a kidnapping of Dr. Viren’s daughter Anishka (Princey Shukla), and Sanjana (Konkona Sen Sharma) his wife being held hostage at home. The doctor is asked to pay a ransom within a 24-hour deadline.
The film resembles Sanjay Dutt starrer Tathastu, and Hollywood hit John Q. The only difference being Irfan Khan, and his stereotyped role. Give the man a chance and let him act for once. The first half moves so slowly, Sirf 24 Ghante seemed like am mean joke. The second half is where the thrill kicks in, but then the story moves like fairy tale, nothing is unexpected. The film is saved by Kabir (Zakir Hussain) playing the role of Viren’s friend, who is a joy to watch. Unlike most child artists, Anishka fails to do a convincing job. A scene involving a maa-beti separation actually looked funny.
I wont vouch for the film, unless there’s nothing else playing. But make sure you buy tickets for any irresponsible doctor you know; the film has a message for all of them - Medicine is a noble profession, for a reason.

Published on Saturday, Nov 11, Page 10, MiDDAY, Bangalore.