The
very
thought
of
watching
a
Vishal
Bhardwaj
film
excites
a
movie
buff
no
end.
Right
from
Makdee
to
Kaminey,
Bhardwaj's
body
of
work
stands
out
from
the
rest.
The
forward-thinking
film-maker's
fixation
for
adapting
novels
and
plays
is
known
to
all
and
sundry
by
now.
Continuing
with
his
practice
of
adapting
from
the
written
form,
the
supremely
talented
storyteller
now
adapts
Ruskin
Bond's
short
story
'Susanna's
Seven
Husbands'
for
his
new
outing
7
Khoon
Maaf.
Known
for
walking
the
unusual
path,
Bhardwaj
narrates
an
unconventional
story
yet
again
-
of
a
woman
who
marries
multiple
times,
following
the
untimely
death
of
her
husbands.
Till
a
few
years
ago,
no
one
would've
ever
thought
of
making
a
film
on
a
woman
who
marries,
remarries,
weds
again,
ties
the
knot
yet
again...
in
fact,
she
walks
down
the
aisle
multiple
times.
That's
not
all,
the
woman,
we
are
told,
kills
each
of
her
husbands
subsequently.
The
theme
might
come
as
a
jolt
to
the
trditional
moviegoers,
since
the
wives
on
the
Hindi
screen
are
either
depicted
as
docile
and
dutiful
or
fiercely
independent
and
ambitious.
The
question
is,
will
the
orthodox
Indian
audience
absorb
a
theme
like
this?
It's
blasphemous,
some
may
opine.
Imagine
a
murderous
bride,
some
may
rant.
There's
talk
that
7
Khoon
Maaf
is
also
loosely
inspired
from
an
Italian
movie
by
the
name
Sette
Volte
Donna
aka
Woman
Times
Seven
[1967],
helmed
by
Vittorio
De
Sica.
That
one
depicted
seven
short
stories
with
adultery
as
the
focal
point
[Shirley
MacLaine,
the
protagonist,
knits
these
stories
together].
However,
the
resemblance
could
be
coincidental
and
not
an
attempt
to
plagiarize
that
film.
Now
let
me
come
to
the
point!
7
Khoon
Maaf
works
in
parts.
A
few
stories
-
involving
Neil
Nitin
Mukesh,
John
Abraham,
Irrfan
Khan
and
Annu
Kapoor
-
are
absorbing,
while
at
least
two
could've
been
better
narrated
-
Naseeruddin
Shah
and
Aleksandr
Dyachenko.
The
unfortunate
part
is
that
the
uninteresting
ones
come
in
the
latter
half
and
coupled
with
its
excessive
length,
the
impact
generated
by
a
captivating
first
hour
gets
diluted
in
the
process.
Even
the
culmination
doesn't
sweep
you
off
your
feet.
Not
just
the
unconventional
plot,
even
the
execution
of
the
subject
material
is
offbeat
and
quirky.
There
are
several
instances
in
the
narrative
where
the
viewer
has
to
stay
very,
very
attentive.
Unlike
other
films,
Bhardwaj
wants
his
viewer
to
stay
attentive
and
use
his
mind
while
watching
the
various
stories
in
7
Khoon
Maaf.
In
one
sequence,
the
camera
zooms
and
the
funeral
transforms
into
a
marriage,
while
another
sequence
depicts
the
marriage
transforming
into
a
funeral.
Also,
the
mystery
of
the
killer
with
five
fingers
and
one
toe
is
disentangled
towards
the
end,
but
the
sequence
doesn't
register
as
effectively
thanks
to
the
way
it
has
been
depicted.
Susanna
[Priyanka
Chopra]
is
unlucky
in
love.
Her
first
husband,
Major
Edwin
[Neil
Nitin
Mukesh],
is
overtly
possessive
and
suspicious.
After
his
demise,
Susanna
marries
Jimmy
[John
Abraham]
as
she
is
floored
by
his
musical
talent.
Jimmy
becomes
successful,
but
with
success
comes
girls
and
drugs.
He
dies
of
drug
overdose.
Enter
Wasiullah
aka
Musafir
[Irrfan
Khan].
Impressed
by
his
poetry,
Susanna
marries
him,
but
discovers
that
he's
a
romantic
in
daytime,
but
a
beast
at
night.
He
too
gets
eliminated.
Susanna
falls
for
the
suave
Nicolai
[Aleksandr
Dyachenko]
from
Moscow,
but
this
marriage
doesn't
last
long
as
Susanna
discovers
that
Vronsky
has
a
wife
in
Russia.
Following
the
death
of
a
foreign
national,
the
police
start
taking
keen
interest
in
the
case.
The
officer
Keemat
Lal
[Annu
Kapoor]
enters
Susanna's
life.
Initially,
he
asks
for
sexual
favors
and
later,
persuades
her
to
marry
him.
He
dies
due
to
cardiac
arrest.
After
the
death
of
Keemat
Lal,
Susanna
marries
Dr.
Modhusudon
[Naseeruddin
Shah].
Susanne
is
depressed
and
he
puts
her
on
a
mushroom
only
diet.
But
he's
the
first
guy
in
her
life
who
wants
to
get
rid
of
her.
Instead,
she
murders
him.
In
the
end,
Susanna
marries
yet
again...
for
the
seventh
time.
This
time,
to
someone
who
knows
she
has
committed
the
murders
and
sins.
What
happens
next?
Though
Priyanka
is
shown
killing
her
husbands
with
the
help
of
her
ever-faithful
staff,
let
this
be
told
that
it's
not
a
scary
or
frightful
experience.
Sure,
it's
intense,
but
at
the
same
time
Bhardwaj
injects
humor
in
the
narrative
and
that's
the
prime
reason
why
the
narrative
never
gets
heavy
or
serious.
I'd
like
to
say
this
film
is
in
a
space
of
its
own.
Also,
though
the
protagonist
marries
and
remarries,
you
don't
feel
any
kind
of
animosity
or
hatred
for
the
character.
On
the
contrary,
one
empathizes
with
her
never-ending
pursuit
for
true
love.
One
feels
the
pain,
loneliness
and
tragedy
that
she
goes
through
and
that's
what
makes
her
the
woman
that
she
eventually
turns
out
to
be.
Wicked,
she
is,
but
Bhardwaj
offers
reasons
for
her
to
get
rid
of
those
men.
The
reasons,
in
most
cases,
are
convincing.
But
the
transition
from
one
man/husband
to
another
is
so
sudden
that
Susanna
comes
across
as
a
desperate
lady
hankering
for
yet
another
marriage.
Bhardwaj,
the
writer,
leaves
the
viewer
clueless
about
the
two
stories
in
the
second
hour.
Fine,
Susanna
had
learnt
that
her
Russian
husband
had
a
wife
and
two
kids
tucked
away
in
Russia,
but
the
manner
in
which
the
entire
case
is
solved
leaves
you
baffled.
In
fact,
one
often
wonders
if
it
was
so
easy
to
murder
a
person
and
move
on
in
life.
How
could
the
law
enforcement
remain
a
silent
spectator
despite
multiple
murders/mysterious
deaths
involving
the
same
woman?
The
writing
didn't
appear
foolproof
and
convincing
to
me.
Bhardwaj
shares
yet
another
responsibility
in
his
films
-
handling
the
music
department.
One
is
assured
that
Bhardwaj
would
come
up
with
lilting
and
high
quality
compositions,
but
the
soundtrack
of7
Khoon
Maaf
is
strictly
okay.
The
Indian
version
of
the
Russian
song
'Kalinka',
'Darling',
is
already
a
rage
and
it
goes
without
saying
that
it's
the
best
track
of
the
enterprise.
Rendered
brilliantly,
the
song
is
sure
to
be
one
of
the
reasons
why
people
will
be
tempted
to
watch
the
film.
Always
ready
to
accept
challenges
in
her
career
[Aitraaz,
Yakeen,
Fashion]
and
raising
the
bar
with
her
performances,
Priyanka
accepts
the
challenge
to
portray
ages
from
21
to
65
in
7
Khoon
Maaf.
It
must've
been
an
arduous
task
to
get
the
different
age-groups
right,
but
she
proves
her
infinite
acting
potential
yet
again.
Known
to
be
an
actress
who
stays
true
to
every
character
that
she
is
portraying,
Priyanka
delivers
yet
another
sparkling,
award
worthy
performance
this
time.
There
are
several
love-making
sequences
with
her
husbands
and
Priyanka
has
handled
those
[bold]
sequences
without
inhibitions.
Amongst
the
remaining
cast,
Annu
Kapoor
leaves
the
maximum
impact.
He's
simply
outstanding!
John
doesn't
really
get
much
scope,
Neil
is
effective,
Irrfan
is
wonderfully
restrained,
Naseer
is
believable
and
Aleksandr
is
passable.
Vivaan
Shah,
who
narrates
the
story
of
Susanna,
is
a
talent
to
watch
out
for.
Though
it's
his
maiden
film
as
an
actor,
it
doesn't
seem
like
one.
He
is
not
your
regular
debutant
and
that's
what
makes
his
character
appear
so
real.
Konkona
Sen
Sharma
does
well.
Usha
Uthup
and
the
two
male
helps
are
good.
On
the
whole,
7
Khoon
Maaf
is
a
dark
film
that
has
its
share
of
positives
and
negatives.
However,
the
film
will
meet
with
diverse
reactions
-
some
will
fancy
it,
while
some
will
abhor
it.
The
film
will
appeal
more
to
the
critics/columnists
and
the
festival
circuit.
However,
it
is
not
the
kind
of
cinema
that
will
set
the
box-office
ablaze.
Ideally,
I
would've
given
a
two
star
rating
for
this
film,
but
I
am
going
ahead
with
an
extra
star
for
Priyanka
Chopra's
sterling
performance!