|
Starring:
Dino Morea, Minissha Lamba, Aarti Chhabria, Koena Mitra,
Achint Kaur, Gulshan Grover, Prithvi Zutshi, Vishwajeet
Pradhan, Jatin Grewal
Directed by
Anant Mahadevan
Inspired from Daphne du Maurier's novel, Rebecca, which
was brilliantly tailored into a Oscar-winning mystery
film by Alfred Hitchcock, Anamika the film needs to be
lauded for the attempt by the director Anant Mahadevan.
Though it is inappropriate to compare to the old work of
genius, it still could have been a little better than
what has hit the screens now.
The film is about Vikram Aditya Sisodia (Dino Morea) who
owns Gajner Palace in Rajasthan comes down to Mumbai for
an international convention with a proposal to convert
his palace into a resort. The youthful Jia Rao (Minissha
Lamba) is the orphan girl who struggles to make ends
meet as a part-time escort and tuition teacher. Vikram
meets Jia, who plays his escort during his trip and the
two fall in love.
Everyone in
the palace talks about Anamika and her beauty, which
makes Jia feel insecure. She makes an effort to emulate
the dead Anamika, but that creates problems for her
marriage. Her attempts to make over herself into Anamika
are much to Vikram's discontent, simply because it was
not the kind of memory he preferred to take pleasure in.
The mystery deepens when Vikram's elder sister (Achint
Kaur) and suspicious copy and his brother-in-law (Gulshan
Grover), accuse him of having a hand in Anamika's death.
Now Jia is in a dilemma of love and death, hounded by
the memories of Anamika and speculating whether Vikram
had actually killed his wife. Her only assistance
appears to be Malini (Koena Mitra) who tells her all
about Anamika. Malini is the governess of Gajner and who
is supporting Vikram to convert the palace into a
resort. Vikram's cheesy cousin-in-law (Jatin Grewal) aid
to the gloomy situations. .
CAST AND CREDITS
Cast
Vikram Singh Sisodiya - Dino Morea
Jia Rao - Minissha Lamba
Anamika - Aarti Chhabria
Koena Mitra
Achint Kaur
Gulshan Grover
Prithvi Zutshi
Vishwajeet Pradhan
Jatin Grewal
|
Vikram Sisodiya proposes to Jia in the course of a
romantic dream sequence in Thailand and she is in high
spirits about it. The newly married couple arrive at their
palatial home in Gajner, a picturesque setting situated in
the barren landscape of Rajasthan.
But before he marries Jia, Vikram Sisodiya reveals that it
would be his second marriage and his first wife Anamika
had died under unfortunate circumstances. Jia is too happy
to bother about it.
When Jia lands up at the
picturesque Lake Palace of Gajner, two things hit her...
the size of the place and the comparisons she draws to the
beautiful socialite first wife Anamika.
Then suddenly, things start happening. Sanjay (Prithvi
Zutshi), the supposed lover of Anamika then emerges. It is
an unusual thundershower which makes Jia confront the
presence of Anamika. Further then, a sandstorm throws up
the most shocking secret of the palace.
These revelations come as an absolute shocker for Jia. She
now finds herself facing the same doom as Anamika. She is
staring her death. Will she become another memory... will
Vikram be responsible... what is the stunning truth behind
those palace walls?
Leaving the comparison aside,
Anamika is less fascinating as compared to its inspired
source - Rebecca, since it still could have been one of
the most captivating romantic mystery film in recent
times. The film's source being so illustrious, the
director has failed in his task to maintain the suspense
in the movie till the flag end, consequently losing out on
the element of surprise. Further, the film's screenplay is
not tight enough for a thriller.
About the performances of characters, the male
protagonist, Dino Morea isn't impressive. Its only
Minissha Lamba with her radiant screen presence who
skillfully etches the character of a baffled girl. She has
put in a very good performance as Jia, who is living out
her life under the shadow of her husband's first wife.
Koena Mitra the alluring beauty puts in a fairly decent
performance in whatever few moments she is there in the
film. Gulshan Grover's presence as the cop who is also
related to the protagonist adds a little life to the film.
The film's music by Anu Mallik
is average with just one impressive number Shagufta Dil.
Pushan Kriplani's Cinematography captures the locations in
Rajasthan even the arid regions in a beautiful manner.
- Amar Jeet
Crew
Directed by Anant Mahadevan
Producer - Bhanwar Lal Sharma
Writing credits
Based on the Novel - Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Original Music by Himesh Reshammiya
Screenplay - Anant Mahadevan, Anand Vardhan
Cinematography - Pushan Kriplani
Music Director - Anu Malik
Art Department
Graphic Designers - Sunil Gujar, Ramakant Kanojia
|
