Movie review – Saansein – The Last Breath – For the horror lovers

=========================================

 

By Joginder Tuteja

 

Rating: ***

 

There are certain factors that are traditionally associated with a horror film. To begin with, there has to be a strong female presence. Of course the music has to be integral to the film. The man of the moment has to protect the damsel in distress and then of course, there has to be a sex element involved. Time and again, Bollywood flicks have used multiple permutation and combination of these elements to arrive at a horror musical entertainer while aimed at the gentry. Saansein – The Last Breath pretty much follows the same route as well.

 

The promos had pretty much indicated the route that the film was meant to follow. A mysterious woman [Sonarika Bhadoria], a man who wants to save her [Rajniesh Duggall] and then of course the other major characters [Hiten Tejwani, Neetha Shetty] playing an integral part in the drama that follows as well. Put them all on location in Mauritius and you know that scenic locations are guaranteed for sure. This is further taken care of, courtesy very melodious music by Vivek Kar and you know for sure that as a package affair, Saansein has been designed on formulaic lines.

 

Nothing really wrong with that as there is as much as one can experiment, especially in the Bollywood horror genre. Of course over the years the genre hasn’t really seen a major success at the Box Office. Ram Gopal Varma is not really making horror films any more while the rest haven’t succeeded in coming up with a commercial success either for some time. However, director Rajiv S. Ruia does make a good enough attempt to tell a short and crisp story (the film is just 100 minute long) to keep the proceedings water tight.

 

So even as the character played by Rajniesh wonders around the frequent disappearance of Sonarika in the dead of the night, as a viewer you do get an inkling of the dangers lurking round the corner. Of course once the horror element begins to kick in, there are scares and jolts that come in. You may wonder around the originality factor at places (there are references you could find from earlier horror films like Tabu’s Hawa or Tia Bajpai’s Haunted) but still go with the flow as by and large the proceedings keep you engaged enough.

 

Producer Goutam Jain pretty much knew about the target audience he was catering to and hence from the overall execution perspective, Saansein plays to the gallery. Even as that happens, the good thing is that there is no vulgarity or skin show on display that would make one cringe on seats. Perhaps audiences in the interiors may still be enticed by these very factors and hence may wonder why this isn’t there in the first place. Still, considering the fact that the film has been given a classy look and feel, the narrative stays on to be consistent instead of looking tacky or out of place.

 

Eventually, the film still manages to make a mark especially when one considers the fact that there are very few horror films being made currently. If you are the one who would like to have a dose of it before curtains fall on 2016, you could well check out Saansein – The Last Breath.