Woodstock VIlla

Movie Woodstock Villa Director Hansal Mehta Cast Sikander Kher, Neha Uberoi, Arbaaz Khan, Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Gaurav Gera

Sonia Chopra

Sanjay Gupta remains incorrigible. After Dus Kahaaniyan's visible flop, he ought to have known better: That just half-clothed heroines, a rocking sound track, an arresting name, and an empty story picked from a hundred DVDs cannot work. The audience demands a coherent story that's well thought out, at least. Here's a sampling: the hero traipses into an airport with a black leather bag full of illegally got money and no one stops him. He even boards the aircraft, opens the bag exposing the cash and pats it indulgently. But it's illogical to expect logic here. This is a thriller, Gupta factory style, and as long as the actors are charismatic enough, and there?s enough skin show, they?re hoping no one will look at the gaping discrepancies in the script. We are introduced to wolfy playboy Samir (Sikander Kher) in a scene you could mistake for a modelling portfolio shoot. Once he gets off his too-cool bike, Kher attempts dancing to Saawan mein lag gayi aag, an amateurishly picturised song. So we know that he loves the flashy lifestyle; but back home, his landlord (Shakti Kapoor) who says things like 'beti aur gaadi, dono paraya dhan hai', is after his life for the unpaid rent. Samir needs money, but refuses to work like ordinary mortals. One evening, at a nightclub, Samir spots a girl who introduces herself as Zara Kampani (Neha Uberoi). He pursues her but she dismisses him with an 'I spell trouble' warning. Evidently, he doesn't know how to read and goes after her anyway. A few days later, she lands up at his home with a sinister plan to test whether her husband really loves her. She begs Samir to kidnap her; he complies for the money, and once they reach the secluded Woodstock Villa, pretends to rape her, so she looks the part of the distraught kidnapped. He then makes the ransom call to her husband Mr Kampani (Arbaaz Khan). Then, predictably, comes the twist in the tale. Oh yes, and there's also an unnecessary parallel sub-plot of Karim bhai (Gulshan Grover), who trails Samir to get back some big bucks he lent him. Possibly this angle was introduced for the sole purpose of reiterating that the protagonist needed the money real bad. Woodstock Villa introduces two actors, Sikander Kher and Neha Uberoi. Kher is unconventionally attractive and suits the character of the brooding playboy who's always getting himself into trouble. But it'll need a second film to test his range and adaptability. Uberoi, who complies with Sanjay Gupta's dictate of half-stripping his heroines, is an interesting face and does fairly well. They're both strong on presence and exude dewy freshness and confidence. Gaurav Gera as the hero?s dost and sidekick is a thankful relief from other hammy performances in such roles, like the one in Jannat. The songs are all superb, a huge advantage to the film. Technically, the film falters in cinematography, which is patchy. Editing is effective and the sound design interesting. The narrative technique is wannabe cool with its superfluous jump cuts, spilt screen fight scenes, and other jazz. Director Hansal Mehta refuses to evolve from his Dus Kahaaniyan stupor and gives us a supposed thriller that rides only on the appeal of the lead actors and the songs. Oh well, so what else is new.

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