Yeh Faasley - Movie review

YEH FAASLEY
U/A; Drama
Dir: Yogesh Mittal
Cast: Anupam Kher, Pavan Malhotra, Rushad Rana, Tena Desae, Suhasini Mulay, Sudha Chandran
Rating: ''



WHAT'S IT ABOUT: Arunima Dua (Desae) misses her mother terribly. Her dad Dev (Kher) tries to be both, something she acknowledges while narrating her tale, but it's not quite the same thing. She's lived away from home, studying, for most of her life. And you really can't tell if papa is happy that the beti is back in his life.
Sure, he likes having her around but when she starts asking way too many questions. You see nothing wrong there. The details surrounding her mother's passing, are a bit sketchy. There are various versions floating around. Her father, a powerful figure in the scheme of things, tries to make it so she doesn't pry more than she already has.
What he doesn't account for is her persistence in getting to the bottom of the murky tale. She learns that not all was hunky-dory between her folks and that they were fighting the day she died and that a pursuit by Dev ended with her death. When an old employee squeals, she decides to take her father to court and get him to tell her the truth.
Two court scenes later, an appearance by Arunima's naani (Mulay) drives Dev berserk. He accepts all charges and is immediately put on death row.
But is he guilty of her murder? And more pertinently, does he deserve to hang for putting his wife through hell?

WHAT'S HOT: Anupam Kher plays these conflicted, angry, unapologetic characters with ease. The actor makes you hate Dev Dua and that's a rare trait. Shot in the hills around Gurgaon, most of this film is visually interesting to watch. The film has an interesting climax but one that loses steam a little too soon

WHAT'S NOT: This film could have done with a tighter screenplay. It meanders and its twists and turns, sometimes inexplicably back and forth. Also, it feels that Rushad's Manu is far more convinced of Dev's innocence than his own daughter. Pavan Malhotra plays a role reminiscent of a certain character in Kajol-Saif starrer Hameshaa.
Tena Desae tries but is unable to get it right. The girl can act but she cannot make the character believable. The film has the feel of a telefilm that was drawn out to make a feature.

WHAT'S THAT! For the most part, Arunima wants to believe that her dad is guilty of murder. While she 'loses it' for days after sending her dad to jail, she keeps getting more 'evidence' of his 'wrongdoing' and is too eager to send him to the gallows. Watch out for the scene where she tells Manu (Rana) that her father's guilty. Looking at her, you'd think she desperately needs to believe that.
Also, Sudha Chandran makes for an unconvincing judge. She tells the defense lawyer to mind his language when he hasn't really done anything wrong. And she has this bored-out-of-my-wits expression throughout the time she is on screen.

WHAT TO DO? Too self-indulgent, Yeh Faasley only serves to widen the distance between you, the viewer and the object of attention, the film itself.