Woodstock Villa may never be called a feather in the cap of White Feathers films. This year we have seen the number of thrillers is more than ever. After the huge success of Race only proved that the entangling and gripping thrillers are just the thing we need. Woodstock Villa is just another to fall in the line. It might somewhat clichéd to say that we are moving towards some good cinema. Not only the industry seems to be at its best now, the audience is also ready to welcome some intense cinema.
Not that we have left stealing themes form Hollywood flicks but we have got our own way with it too. Woodstock villa has some good Hollywood style shots to its credit. The aim of a thriller is basically to open pieces of something that passes off as having a pattern and the audience sit through the film watching them being put together swiftly with a very subtle hand. Race was probably one film that combined a good plot and style and expectedly made a point. The only point where Woodstock Villa looses the game to 4 to 6 is the plot. Had the plot been written with some more conscious effort and got the twists to work as an advantage, the film would have got ever so interesting.
Rating: 2.5/5
Sanjay Gupta has a very strong notion of Hollywood cinema, which he wants to experiment with Indian audience. So far, this spirit is good and director Hansal Mehta tries to make it look interesting but at time the loose plot pops up making a mess of the thing.
The last film with a similar storyline was Strangers which starred Jimmy Shergill, Kay Kay Menon, Nandana Sen and Sonali Kulkarni. The film wasn’t really a success but the plot was very gripping and you never know what is going to happen till the end and you finally question yourself, why it happened this way.
Woodstock Villa also creates some amount of suspense but then the many twists it unfolds; it becomes difficult to keep the intensity intact. Thrillers always need the right amount of color schemes with background score to add to the effect, this has been no doubt taken care of in the film but the heavy background music and the grained hand-picked shots try get on your nerves.
The film also has one of the few star sons who are making their debuts this year. Sikander Kher, son of veteran actors Kiron and Anupam Kher quietly makes his presence felt in a most surprising manner. There is no extra hype and the guy’s looks are never highlighted yet he has a strong weapon to stand by him, his acting skills. Here is one actor we need to watch out for!
The film is based on the mystery behind the death of the wife of a rich businessman, who has tried to plot the murder along with his girlfriend only to be cheated by her. The Bollywood way to fix some one else for one’s crime has been explored many a times.
Samir (Sikander Kher) is a jobless young man with a huge debt on his head. While he is not sleeping with his ex-boss’s wife, he is threatened by a don Kalim (Gulshan Grover) who wants his money back. He falls in love with the stunning Reshma (Neha Oberoi) who happens to be the lover of a rich businessman Jatin (Arbaaz Khan).
She passes off as Jatin’s wife Zara and convinces Samir to kidnap her so that she gets to now how much he loves her. Samir is already penniless and is in dire need of money, which means he would fall for the scheme. Finally, when they are playing kidnap-kidnap, and Samir has asked for a large ransom, Zara dies in captivity and Samir is at a loss as what to do. He tries to wash his hands off the dead body and hopes to fly off to US. This is basically the story that doesn’t look as easy on the screen.
Acting wise, Sikander has great potential, though, Woodstock villa is hardly the kind of launch pad he might have desired for. He shows that acting is in his blood and we would not compare him with his parents after all he still has many years to grow and when you watch the film, you hardly feel it is his first film.
The other debutant Neha Oberoi proves that she can not only look stunning but can do her part pretty well. She has the rare combination of beauty with skills, some one to watch out for. Arbaaz Khan was good and shows some real time expressions. The other actors like Sachin Khedkar and Shakti Kapoor are underutilized.
One the best things bout the film is the great cinematography by Vikash Nowlakha. Be ready for some innovative and Hollywood style shots, obviously it must have pleased the producer Sanjay Gupta. Hansal Mehta as the director did his part well, with the loose plot. Milap Zaveri has provided some good punches. The other thing that could have been an advangtage had it not been loud was Amar Mohile’s background score.
Over all, the film is for the serious audience, who want more than some entertainment in two hours!
Rating 2.5/5
