. . . Woh (2004) is a perfectly straightforward filmi
noir, about an ordinary man who finds himself sucked into the seamy
underbelly of a small town. Of course, in a genre known for its twists
and turns, being perfectly straightforward is not necessarily a good
thing.
Shekhar Kappor (Priyanshu Chatterjee) needs a job. After an interview set up by his good friend Ali falls through, Shekhar decides to keep driving until he finds a job, rather than return to his native Goa. A gas station owner, impressed by his honesty, suggests he try Laila’s Bar, in nearby Mahabaleshwar.
At the bar, Shekhar is approached by Laila herself (Laila Patel). She asks if he is Shakar, from Goa, and if he’s looking for a job. When he says yes, she ushers him into the back room to meet with Pratap Singh, who offers the young man a great deal of money to kill his niece Sonali (Cleo Isaacs).
It’s clear that Pratap and Laila were looking for a different Shekhar. Still, hoping to avoid being murdered on the spot, Shekhar accepts. Then he tracks down Sonali, warns her about her uncle, and offers her the money. She tells him to keep it, so, his conscience clear, he drives out of town.
And then a man ruins directly in front of his car. Shekhar is a decent guy, so he takes the injured man to the nearest hospital, which is back in Mahabaleshwar. Shekhar waits in the lobby to see if the man will be okay (see? Decent!) so he’s still there when Inspector Sameer (Shahbaaz Khan) arrives to ask him about the bullets the doctors dug out of the mysterious patient. Before Shekhar can talk his way out of being arrested, the police chief arrives . . . Pratap Singh.
Singh arrests Shekhar, then sends the other officers back to the station, declaring that he will bring the young man to the station personally. Of course, he plans to do no such thing, but Shekhar manages to escape before being murdered, and narrowly manages to avoid being run over by the jolly and violent Shekhar Amritsari (Ayub Khan), a self proclaimed CBI agent.
Elated to have found someone he can trust, Shekhar brings the other Shekhar to Laila’s Bar to confront Pratap Singh, only to discover that in this case, CBI stands for Criminal By Inspiration rather than Central Bureau of Investigation; the other Shekhar is the hitman from Goa Pratap was waiting for. So Shekhar escapes again, rescues Sonali (who was still in the house, apparently waiting to be killed) and goes on the run.
. . . Woh clearly aspires to the film noir tradition, with an ordinary protagonist who is sucked into a shadowy underworld where no one is what they seem to be. Trouble is, Shekhar practically jumps into an (admittedly shadowy) underworld, where all of two people, tops, are not what they seem to be; in fact, the resolution of the film relies on first impressions being entirely accurate. There are three twists in the plot, none of them particularly shocking; two involve characters we’ve just met, and the third is telegraphed a good half hour in advance.
The characters in . . . Woh are either good, or they are bad. Shekhar is not smart, but he’s honest, dependable, and willing to risk his life for a girl he’s only just met. His friend Ali is even more saintly. Meanwhile, the bad guys are entirely bad. (And Shekhar the professional assassin is kind of wasted; I like that he’s a big goofy nerd, but Shekhar the everyman hero outwits or beats him up every single time they clash, completely undercutting any sort of menace which would contrast with the glasses and the bright pink shirt.)
. . . Woh is a perfectly serviceable little thriller, but it’s a thriller that invokes a lot of noir tropes while featuring an uncomplicated plot and black and white morality. It manages to do the unexpected by being exactly what you expect.
Shekhar Kappor (Priyanshu Chatterjee) needs a job. After an interview set up by his good friend Ali falls through, Shekhar decides to keep driving until he finds a job, rather than return to his native Goa. A gas station owner, impressed by his honesty, suggests he try Laila’s Bar, in nearby Mahabaleshwar.
At the bar, Shekhar is approached by Laila herself (Laila Patel). She asks if he is Shakar, from Goa, and if he’s looking for a job. When he says yes, she ushers him into the back room to meet with Pratap Singh, who offers the young man a great deal of money to kill his niece Sonali (Cleo Isaacs).
It’s clear that Pratap and Laila were looking for a different Shekhar. Still, hoping to avoid being murdered on the spot, Shekhar accepts. Then he tracks down Sonali, warns her about her uncle, and offers her the money. She tells him to keep it, so, his conscience clear, he drives out of town.
And then a man ruins directly in front of his car. Shekhar is a decent guy, so he takes the injured man to the nearest hospital, which is back in Mahabaleshwar. Shekhar waits in the lobby to see if the man will be okay (see? Decent!) so he’s still there when Inspector Sameer (Shahbaaz Khan) arrives to ask him about the bullets the doctors dug out of the mysterious patient. Before Shekhar can talk his way out of being arrested, the police chief arrives . . . Pratap Singh.
Singh arrests Shekhar, then sends the other officers back to the station, declaring that he will bring the young man to the station personally. Of course, he plans to do no such thing, but Shekhar manages to escape before being murdered, and narrowly manages to avoid being run over by the jolly and violent Shekhar Amritsari (Ayub Khan), a self proclaimed CBI agent.
Elated to have found someone he can trust, Shekhar brings the other Shekhar to Laila’s Bar to confront Pratap Singh, only to discover that in this case, CBI stands for Criminal By Inspiration rather than Central Bureau of Investigation; the other Shekhar is the hitman from Goa Pratap was waiting for. So Shekhar escapes again, rescues Sonali (who was still in the house, apparently waiting to be killed) and goes on the run.
. . . Woh clearly aspires to the film noir tradition, with an ordinary protagonist who is sucked into a shadowy underworld where no one is what they seem to be. Trouble is, Shekhar practically jumps into an (admittedly shadowy) underworld, where all of two people, tops, are not what they seem to be; in fact, the resolution of the film relies on first impressions being entirely accurate. There are three twists in the plot, none of them particularly shocking; two involve characters we’ve just met, and the third is telegraphed a good half hour in advance.
The characters in . . . Woh are either good, or they are bad. Shekhar is not smart, but he’s honest, dependable, and willing to risk his life for a girl he’s only just met. His friend Ali is even more saintly. Meanwhile, the bad guys are entirely bad. (And Shekhar the professional assassin is kind of wasted; I like that he’s a big goofy nerd, but Shekhar the everyman hero outwits or beats him up every single time they clash, completely undercutting any sort of menace which would contrast with the glasses and the bright pink shirt.)
. . . Woh is a perfectly serviceable little thriller, but it’s a thriller that invokes a lot of noir tropes while featuring an uncomplicated plot and black and white morality. It manages to do the unexpected by being exactly what you expect.
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