KUCCH TO HAI: Suspense Without Brake

           'Kucch To Hai' is likely to be a box-office treasure trove for Ekta Kapoor as much like 'Raaz' or the recently released 'Jism'. That may happen even without Bipasha. Though the pull of two heroines - Esha and Natasha - cannot compensate the absence of the dusky actress, the film scores on the strength of its story.

           Being a remake of a hit from the South, its director Anil V Kumar is repeated in the Hindi version. The cast, apart from Ekta's younger brother Tusshar, who has been waiting for a hit, is filled with boys and girls from the small screen. Natasha herself, playing Esha's rival in love, comes from one of Ekta's own serials hitting the TV screen.

           The film has three plus features: a desirably suspenseful story, a deft direction (including slick cinematography) and Anu Malik's music. With Natasha around with footage no less Esha's audience does not miss the sensuousness of Bipasha. As the film unfolds, one realises how the on-screen hostility between the two girls must have spilled over to real life.

           The story and the screen play, attributed to Rajeev Jhaveri, is not only about a crazy professor (Bakshi) who keeps his wife's body at home after killing her, but also about Karan, his two loves - Tanya and Tashu. Theirs is a lovers' tale forming triangles and going in circles throughout the length of the film.

           The love story runs as a sub-plot of the main storyline that takes place in Shimla around a college. The joviality and the zest of the youth is brought out with little touches that are both human and humorous. It's a small world of adolescents who are bubbling with dreams and drowned in a sea of emotions. They are passionate about everything. The story hutles down a eerie path when Karan decides to replace Tanya's answer book with another. As they sneak into Prof Bakshi's house to do what they wanted, they discover the 'secret', but are caught. The crazy professor wants all of them dead for they are witness to some dark secret of his life. The rest of the story is the professor's chase of his intended victims and it disrupts everyone's life. There are some scenes which are really spine-chilling and bone-freezing.

           Rishi Kapoor's return to the screen as the psychotic professor adds substantially to the suspense and thrill woven in the movie. He is a cast in a portrayal hitherto never seen before. It is a very negative role with hardly any light feartures.

           Karan is a lover boy with a daring streak. His passion for Tanya drives him to commit a crime for which they all suffer. Tusshar has done it with ease and lot of confidence. Esha this time to be as much uninhibited as she possibly can: it's more like trying to match her sensuality with Natasha, but not to much effect. As for Natasha her ticket to filmdom is now on a fast track

-by Our Film Critic
-January 24,  2003