By:
Subhash
K.
Jha,
IndiaFM
Monday,
July
02,
2007
Freedom
is
a
major
driving
force
behind
Mahesh
Bhatt's
cinema.
Like
it
or
not,
Mahesh's
tortured
vision
colours
and
complements
every
frame
that
his
protÉgÉes
from
Anurag
Basu
to
Mohit
Suri
have
created.
In
this
hauntingly-delineated
portrait
of
a
woman's
right
to
self-fulfillment,
Mohit
Suri
steps
forward
with
a
tale
that
tilts
its
hat
to
the
very
best
of
world
cinema.
European
in
feel,
Indian
in
texture
and
supremely
secular
in
its
view
of
love,
loyalty
and
other
passionate
eruptions,
Awarapan
is
one
of
those
tightly-wound
thriller-dramas
where
the
outflow
of
the
emotions
is
so
controlled
that
you
forget
the
implausibility
of
the
plot.
Emraan
Hashmi
gets
one
more
author-backed
chance
to
prove
his
worth.
He
does
a
commendable
job
of
creating
a
young
emotional
gypsy
whose
loyalty
to
his
employee
(Ashutosh
Rana,
fiercely
clenched
in
his
evilness)
is
challenged
by
his
conscience.
Every
member
of
the
vast
cast
is
in-character.
Among
the
two
leading
ladies
who
form
a
before-and-after
axis
in
the
taut
plot,
Shreya
Saran's
freshness
and
expressiveness
are
infectious.
Mrinalini
Sharma
could've
done
better
if
she
wasn't
dressed
wrongly
for
the
part
of
a
brutal
man's
mistress.
The
scenes
between
Hashmi
and
his
master's
mistress
will
remind
you
of
Shahrukh
Khan
and
Madhuri
Dixit
in
Koyla
and
also
and
Kareena
in
Refugee.
Hashmi's
character
and
the
narration
are
driven
by
demons
that
do
not
render
themselves
into
any
comfortable
configuration.
Two
vital
sequences,
one
where
he
desperately
tries
to
dig
his
beloved
out
of
her
grave
and
another
when
the
lacerated
hero
confronts
the
villain
at
the
end
with
tears
quietly
streaming
down
his
face,
showcase
Emraan's
coming-of-rage
proclivities.
Awarapan
could
have
been
a
messy
mis-mash
of
melodrama
and
mayhem.
There's
a
lot
of
both
in
the
narrative.
But
the
film
succeeds
in
going
beyond
the
routine
romantic
rituals
associated
with
films
about
forbidden
love.
The
locales
lend
a
mesmeric
rocky
ruggedness
to
the
raga
of
tormented
emotions.
The
volatile
music
score
(Pritam
Chakraborty)
and
the
skillful
interweaving
of
deftly
cut
scenes
which
glow
with
the
flow,
make
Awarapan
a
cut-above-the-notch
viewing.
I've
always
thought
of
Emraan
Hashmi
as
an
actor
who
conceals
more
than
he
reveals
on
screen.
There
is
an
inherent
pain
in
his
personality
that
this
film
taps
better
than
anything
he
has
done
earlier.
This
film
marks
the
emergence
of
a
major
talent.
In
Awarapan,
director
Mohit
Suri
harnesses
the
unstated
side
of
Emraan
Hashmi's
personality
with
an
all-encompassing
view
into
hearts
that
have
known
no
home.
Freedom
could
be
a
song.
Or
it
could
be
a
poem.
In
Awarapan
it's
a
thought
that
gets
smothered
in
a
stifled
scream.
Director
Mohit
Suri
has
specialized
in
manifesting
the
fears
and
anxieties
of
tortured
souls
in
flight.
After
Kalyug
and
Woh
Lamhe
he
gets
it
right-
one
more
time.
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