I had read Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca long back in my mid-teens. The book had captured my fancy to such an extent that I didn’t keep it down till I spent some two sleepless nights finishing it. Now, when you see Anamika, which is loosely based on it, you are more likely to sleep over it. Rebecca has been lifted again and again by many directors but the resemblance between it and Amanika is more so during the first half and the second half has been added Indian spices to make it look Desi. Ananth Mahadevan who has been quite a strong story teller by the day has no doubt failed to keep the audience glued to their seats with amazed emotions.
Ratings: 2/5
He had failed to do so in Aksar and Aggar, did his best to start of this film on the right note and the right amount of suspense and thrill as expected but as you get up for a cola and some popcorns during the interval, by the time you are back, you will find the film that created much interest is just being dragged on. Though the script is no doubt good at various places, Mahadevan could have done well with a little tighter hand. Rather than trying forced thrill, the movie could have been made brilliantly had the subtlety been maintained. Though Mahadevan is not scared to try his hand out with different themes and plots, and has been not flicky about his plots looses out on this one. The film looks like horrified murder mystery that becomes too obvious by the day and aren’t we already used to the thrillers and mysteries from Abbas Mastan and the Bhatts?
The story or Anamika is set in a grand Rajasthani Palace. The Palace of Gajner belongs to the young Kunwar Vikram Aditya Sisodiya (Dino Morea) who like the rest of the royal clans of Rajasthan wants to convert his palace into a resort. This plan leads him to meet a beautiful escort Jia (Minissha Lamba). Soon, Vikram falls for the simple and sensible little Jia and within two days of courtship decides to marry her. Jia, who is taken in for a welcome surprise agrees to marry him. Vikram discloses that it will be his second marriage and his first wife is no more without further details on how she died just before the marriage. Jia arrives at the huge palace house, which is being looked after by Malini (Koena Mitra), who is also the childhood buddy of Vikram, with lots of dreams and hopes for a bright future there.. Soon, her open-eyed dreams are scattered as she starts living under the shadow of Vikram’s first wife the enchanting Anamika who has left a strong impression on everyone not only at the palace but the whole city even long after she is dead.
The letter ‘A’ obviously standing for Anamika is imprinted in every nook and corner of the place. Jia is compared with her at every point and this leads her to try become like the captivating Anamika and changes her style. To her surprise, she fails to impress Vikram rather annoys him with this stunt and she is left at crossroads when the imposing and eerie feeling of the dead wife seems to wondering all about the palcace. Her nightmares get even more effective when she sees the shadow of Anamika. Soon, a dead body comes to the surface with a murder mystery to solve. The suspicious brother-in-law (Gulshan Grover) who is also a state cop is dead bent upon accusing and proving that Vikram is the killer. To this suspense another cynical character Sanjay appears, who was the once the boyfriend of Anamika. In this difficult situation, the only person who is close to Jia is Malini, the housekeeper. As the movie goes on, how Jia comes to unveil the mystery behind this gruesome murder.
Now, add a little from Gupt and a little from Raaj, you can always be sure, you know the film. There is nothing explicitly unique about the script and Mahadevan’s knack for thrillers seems not to be paying him well enough and definitely he seems uncertain of whether his interest lies in a mystery or a horror film. Acting wise, Minissha Lamba has surprisingly made a mark with her varying wardrobe and gives a good performance. Dino gives a performance little more than expected of him. While Koena Mitra gives a very plastic expression in most of the scenes, which makes it look as if she isn’t really interested for acting would rather do a ramp. Gulshan Grover has done similar roles in a number of movies and it was expected of him to give a more powerful piece her but he doesn’t do anything that was probably not asked of him. The other characters like Achint Kaur have been growing as an actor of late and she can’t be ignored here as well. While Anu Malik’s music is nothing unusual, Aadesh Srivastav’s background music does score a point or two and is pretty good during the first hour when the mystery is expected to surmount. Pushan Kriplani’s cinematography is good at certain places. The story by Anant Mahadevan and Anand Vardhan could have been better without too many borrowings from other books of film and lesser amount of twists to make it look Indianized.
Over all, the movie is good to watch during the first half but lingers on the climax.
Ratings: 2/5
