peddiniz

Cast: Sikander Kher, Neha Uberoi, Arbaaz Khan
Direction: Hansal Mehta
Critic Rating: *** 1/2


MEN are back. Boyz, take a back seat. If last year, it was Neil Mukesh in Johnny Gaddar that defined the dawn of the wicked, this year it's Sikander Kher who unleashes a brand new style of machismo on screen, even as he carries forth the march of the crooked men that has been progressing in leaps and bounds with films like Race and Jannat . Kher has great screen presence that brings back the mythical Marlboro man in an age that had begun to serenade the metrosexual. As Sameer, the NRI who comes to India in search of spice and gets embroiled in a sleazy game of abduction, murder, deceit, he's in crackling form. Interestingly, he's ably matched by newcomer Neha Uberoi who's sultry charms add gravitas to the mystery woman who's dead and still not dead.

This one's a stylish thriller, with some great cinematography (Vikash Nowlakha) which captures Mumbai in shadow and light: the archetypal sin city that looks ominous, even as the rain washes it clean. Sameer is hired by a mysterious woman (Neha Uberoi) who asks him to stage her abduction and demand rasnom from her husband (Arbaaz Khan), only because she wants to test his love. So who's the sucker? Sameer who fails to resist the lure of pretty women and moolah; the woman who ends up dead and alive; the husband who could be the killer or the savior?

Go, get your thrills and celebrate the birth of a new actor who, with the right choices, could end up as the new action hero in a namby-pamby age. A word about the music: while the songs do impede the pace of the film, they have a tonal freshness and a refreshing new zing.