Kucch To Hai Movie Review:

Balaji Films Ltd.'s KUCCH TO HAI, directed by Anil V. Kumar and Anurag Bose, is a whodunit, except that the outcome leaves the viewer as confused as the writer of the film.

 

They thought it was just an accident.

 

They thought he was dead.

 

They thought it was over!

 

Three years ago, in an attempt to save a friend's neck, six friends started a deadly game of hide and seek, which resulted in a brutal death. The game had only one fallout � guilt. A guilt that tore them away from each other � with half-finished love stories and unfulfilled promises.

 

But now, three years later, someone had apparently learnt the truth and the horror was starting again!

 

The friends had come together once again. But this time, was it by design or default? Just when they thought the game was over, their worst fears came alive, almost like a recurrent nightmare.

 

There was an unknown avenger out there, seeking them. Would he stop the terror or was he out for complete justice? And was he alone?

 

With the kind of promos and marketing strategies adopted to promote KUCCH TO HAI, you definitely expect a lot from KUCCH TO HAI. Unfortunately, the outcome leaves the viewer exasperated.

 

A poor copy of the Hollywood flick I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, KUCCH TO HAI offers nothing much except a few chills and thrills.

 

The first half of the murder mystery starts off quite well. A few sequences in the college and the light moments do bring a smile on your face. Even the turning point in the narrative is well executed. Although the first half is slightly lengthy, it nevertheless makes for decent entertainment.

 

Merging a love triangle with a murder mystery was a good idea, but this aspect misfires in the second half. The reasons are plenty

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One, the pace of the film drops in this half mainly because the focus shifts to the love story, sidetracking the main story completely.

 

Two, the way with which the murders take place gives you an impression that it's child play.

 

Three, the climax is an absolute letdown.

 

The biggest flaw lies in Rajeev Jhaveri's screenplay. In order to package just about everything in the film, the writer has not been able to concentrate on any one aspect and make it convincing.

 

For instance, the love triangle bit in the second half looks forced. So do the songs. The placement of 'Ding Dong' [expertly picturised] and 'Kya Pyaar Karoge Mujhse', especially the latter, is wrong. In fact, the last song can easily be deleted for it acts as a speed breaker in the narrative.

 

But what takes the graph of the film down completely is the climax, which turns out to be such an anti-climax. All through the second half, the characters in the film and even the viewer feel the presence of the supposedly dead character, but when the focus shifts to an altogether new person, the outcome falls flat.

 

What's more, from being a murder mystery, the end suddenly becomes a love story of an over-possessive woman, which was not required at all.

 

Besides a wrong ending, the writer hasn't even developed the character of the supposedly dead character, who swears vengeance on the college students. In the first place, why does he wait for three long years to strike, remains a mystery.

 

Also, when he does reveal everything to Tusshar in the end, it gives an impression that the writer wanted to say that it's time to put an end to the story and that things should be hurried up. Incidentally, the isolated hotel in the film, without any guests and staff, looks more like a museum than a hotel.

 

Directors Anil V. Kumar and Anurag Bose do create an eerie atmosphere at times, but the culmination of several scenes is not scary. Yet, it must be said that given the script, the directors have tried to infuse life in the goings-on aided by well-handled camera movements.

 

Anu Malik's music is the only saving grace. The film has a mix of tuneful and foot-tapping numbers and the picturisation of a few of them is first-rate. Dialogues [Anuraag Praparna, Umesh Shukla] are just about okay. Cinematography [Johny Lal, Fawzia Fathima] is up to the mark. The snow-capped locales are eye-filling.

 

Tusshar is plain mediocre. Esha Deol shows improvement in terms of performance as well as her overall appearance. But the girl is relegated to the background in the second half.

 

New-find Natassha looks sweet, but cannot carry off a difficult role. Shifting the focus on her in the climax was not required. Amongst the friends, Vrajesh Hirjee is the best, providing ample relief. Johny Lever has a couple of scenes and he does very well.

 

Rishi Kapoor is least convincing. Also, he could've done with a better look. Jeetendra is so-so.

 

On the whole, KUCCH TO HAI belies the expectations that the viewer has from the film. Weak in content and a weaker climax will curtail its prospects to a great extent.