Pluskylang Great Film overall
Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
silvan-desouza RGV a superb filmmaker who gave us RANGEELA(1995) and several more great films, not forgetting SATYA(1998). He had several heroines who were his muse, Urmila was one of them. She was a constant fixture since RANGEELA till Antra Mali took her place followed by Nisha Kothari. RGV used to experiment with films and make quality films, especially since COMPANY, SARKAR his films were looked for by the audience, he introduced new talents too with his films, one such talent is Sriram Raghavan.Urmila too after doing roles which exposed her looks and dance, changed herself and took roles of substance. EK HASEENA THI came when she had started doing roles of substance with Bhoot and Pinjar and the disaster Tehzeeb notwithstanding. Ek Haseena Thi reminds us of Bangkok Hilton(which was remade as Gumrah(1993) starring Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt and Rahul Roy). Also takes scenes from The Bone Collector and other films but the film is treated brilliantly. The film starts off quite well though it's bit hard to digest the way Urmila suddenly gets close to Saif without knowing much of him, but then the story shifts gears and the way things are handled is superb, The jail scenes are simply superb, her escape(hardly anything filmy, thankfully no disguises). The first half is simply superb, The second half too is superb, Saif's murky business, The way he gets trapped, Urmila's revenge are brilliantly portrayed, even the end is unconventional and superbDirection by Sriram Raghavan is simply superb, he does give tribute to his mentor whose touch is visible but yet carves his niche superbly Sriram is a 70s filmy buff though and gives tribute to old films, here done subtely compared to Johny Gaddar and Agent Vinod, There is a small clip showing Mehmood dancing to Maaf Karo from Do Phool(1974). There is only 1 song which is in the background and thankfully no naach gaana Camera-work is superb, Background music is awesomeUrmila Matondkar who proved her talent with Bhoot, Pinjar does a superb job, conveying all emotions, revenge perfectly, She is perfectly cast only quibee is her make up in jail portions, it would be better if she was shown without make up and also her dress change, but that doesn't take anything from her performance. Saif Ali Khan too turned a new leaf since DCH and started experimenting, He plays a villain perfectly and shows his versatility, he never overacts or makes faces, giving a true natural performance He had done a negative role in Kya Kehna but this one is different and does a superb job, after this he played a villain in Omkara again and rest is history. Seema Biswas is superb as the cop, Pratima Kazmi is again brilliant, The Late Rasika Joshi is simply brilliant, Aditya Shrivastav again proves his mettle, he is fabulous, Kavita Kaushik has a cameo, Madan Joshi is apt, Zakir Hussain is terrific in a scene Abhay Bhargav is perfect, The jail mates are all terrific Gopal Singh as Abhijit is superbSadly the film didn't do well at the B.O. as Saif still didn't have a solo hit but he got it with Hum Tum in the same year, rest assured
Vivekmaru45 Sriram Raghavan's dark thriller Ek Hasina Thi has all the ingredients of a winner. Outstanding acting by Urmila Matondkar, who I consider to be the best actress in Bollywood. Good supporting acting by veteran actor Saif Ali Khan and veteran actress Seema Biswas.Karan Singh Rathod (Saif Ali Khan) who secretly works in the for the underworld, strikes up an acquaintance with Sarika Vartak (Urmila Matondkar) which inventually leads to a romance between them.One day Karan who is away on business tells Sarika that some friend of his would be staying a while at her flat. The Karans friend arrives, Sarika welcomes him. He leaves but leaves a suitcase behind. The next day, on news Sarika finds out that Karan's friend was a notorious gangster who was gunned down by the police in a fatal encounter. The suitcase that he left to Sarika now becomes a big problem. Sarika decides to dispose the suitcase discreetly but is apprehended by the police at her doorstep with the suitcase in her hand. The cold and unfeeling ACP Malti Vaidya (Seema Biswas) interrogates Sarika ruthlessly in to confessing. Sarika lands for the first time in prison. Events unfold in the film, which paces on relentlessly, which later come to a terrifying climax towards the end.Excellent casting, acting, dialogue, score, editing and photography. This film has scenes of graphic violence and should not meant for younger viewers under 18.
Sherazade Awesome, awesome, awesome just awesome! LOL! I just loved to see Urmila go gangster like that. Saif Ali Khan owes me big time (Hahaha! I have been catching up on a bunch of his old movies and so far he seems to play the bad guy a lot, I would love to see him play a saint which is why I say that he owes me big time after this) Urmila delivered with this movie. Her character did a complete 360 right in front of our eyes. From dunce to devil-may-care-diva! I was shocked at what happened to her character initially because I did not read the synopsis before watching it but as the film progressed, I was so happy to see her kick some major buttocks. It's rare to see a woman do this in a Bollywood film so, here's a standing ovation for Urmila and the Ram Gopal Varma team.
nikhil7179 Although the plot of EHT would be regarded as the usual 70's exploitation/revenge fare, there's nothing typical about the fact that it is a Bollywood movie.Female protagonists are rare enough, but avenging angel avatars are rarer still. Sriram Raghavan weaves an intriguing game of cat and mouse where hunter and prey constantly switch roles.Add to this another layer of players - that of cops and robbers, and you have a veritable maze of secrets and lies.Although the film follows genre conventions, it does so with a sense of playful cynicism, always toying with the audience's expectations. It topples various Bollywood boy-meets-girl clichés and asks us to reexamine our preconceived notions.EHT's main underlying theme reflects the evolving tastes and preferences of the Indian middle class - Prissy girl, though reluctant at first, is eventually seduced by mysterious stranger who delivers her deep dark fantasy escape from a safe and mundane existence, but at the ultimate price her very freedom. Death drive overdrive.Possibly the most fascinating aspect of the film though is the undercurrent of masochism that runs through it. Sarika is submissive, conformist and physically weak and defenseless. Even her beauty is a liability and is more than once cause for undue attention.She is always confined (repressed) first by convention and culture, and later literally when she is wrongfully jailed.She must come to terms with her own femininity (sexuality) and only then can she be liberated. Although her metmorphosis in the film is not entirely believable, that's the general idea.Though Sarika is the submissive party in the first half and is constantly victimized physically and emotionally, the tables are turned in the end when the dominant Karan is tied up in the cave a return to the womb as it were, and left to be devoured by ravenous rodents messengers of the wrathful goddess herself.But the film is far from being some kind of feminist diatribe. This is still Bollywood.The cat and mouse scenario perpetuates itself in all sorts of interesting ways. In probably the most memorable scene in the film, Karan and Sarika engage in a game of questions and answers, of truth and lies, a sort of icebreaker. This is in fact a piece of a bigger puzzle - a larger game they seem to enacting one of role-playing Karan as the mysterious predator, Sarika as the poor defenseless damsel.Another interesting scene occurs when, after flying the coop Sarika sees Karan in the arms of another girl and her reaction is one of agony and loathing totally understandable however, the context renders it ambiguous. Is the emotion the result of being betrayed and falsely imprisoned or being two-timed by another woman? Moments like these elevate the film from being mere revenge play.EHT is not perfect it has pacing issues and even comes close to imploding in the third act with a hastily assembled climax, but it's assured sense of direction and strong performances by the lead and supporting cast save it from self-destructing.But my main complaint has little to do with plot machinations. The film provides a great canvas for tackling taboo topics like sexual dynamics, gender roles, etc. and even takes a stab at them every now and then, but it fails to draw blood. It feels like the film is holding back for some reason.Although EHT's subversive potential is largely untapped, Sriram Raghavan is clearly a talent to watch out for. I for one am curious to see what he comes up with next.
