Ek Hasina Thi (2004)
8/10
Subtlety is a rare commodity in Bollywood...
2 February 2004
...but EHT manages it very well. Its a refreshing change from the fare the we are regularly subjected to by Bollywood. There are no ridiculous song and dance sequences, no melodramatic dialogue delivery and even the gory action sequences are underplayed.

The movie is about a single girl living alone in Mumbai away from her family ("on her own terms" is what the reviews say) and how she deals with extraordinary circumstances that surround her meeting the man of her dreams (on the lines of Pacific Heights, or Sleeping with the Enemy). The movie suspiciously feels like its a remake of some Hollywood thriller, but without concrete evidence, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

The movie manages to remain realistic on the whole without giving in to the usual ludicrous melodrama and action scenes at the end. Having said that though, there are a few elements that are difficult to believe. For one, the occupation of the lead character, Sarika. Can a single girl really survive alone in Mumbai with her lifestyle as a booking agent in a travel firm? And for a single girl, she is amazingly gullible when a man woos and beds her. Is it really that easy? Finally, Ram Gopal Verma's penchant for introducing threatening and mysterious characters that turn out to be harmless and irrelevant (the neighbour, Kamdar and the talent scout) is getting old.

Even with its flaws, EHT deserves a high rating. Not because its a great movie or will be a classic someday, but because it simply offers a better movie going experience than most other Bollywood movies today. Its very nice to know that a movie without songs can hold its own, especially when it is mainline cinema.
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