7 Khoon Maaf Review – A Roundup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClG2IIh4I3c
7 Khoon Maaf – And the critics are saying!
Komal Nahta of koimoi.com: He has given it 1.5 stars. Mr Nahta says that the takers for this kind of dark subject among the Hindi film-going audience won’t be too many. According to his 7 Khoon Maaf review “There are a lot of questions that remain unanswered by the story writer and the screenplay writers. For example, how does Susanna keep falling in love with men with such alarming regularity when she has had bitter and chilling experiences in her married life in the past? The natural way for a lady in such a situation would be to be put off marriage forever…Besides, why does she simply not walk out of the bad marriages? Why does she take law into her own hands each time she feels cheated by the husband? What is also puzzling is why man after man is keen on marrying Susanna when her earlier husband/s has/have died under mysterious circumstances.”
Anupama Chopra of NDTV: She isn’t very happy with the film. She says “This is a tough story to pull off and despite the voluminous talent on display here – from director-co-writer-composer Vishal Bhardwaj to Priyanka to co-stars like Irrfan Khan and Naseeruddin Shah – the film stumbles and fumbles.” Also the story and Susanna’s character doesn’t come off as believable. “She walks down the aisle with cheery optimism and the knowledge that if it doesn’t work, there’s always the other option. Why doesn’t she just leave or opt for divorce? Because, as her faithful butler explains, that is her nature.” Ms Chopra adds.
Sonia Chopra of sify: She has good words for the movie. She says “At no point does writer-director Vishal Bhardwaj permit the viewer to blame Susannah (Priyanka Chopra) for any of her crimes; the viewer is to remain consistently sympathetic to her. And the film is so luscious for this reason: the way Bhardwaj makes us root for this semi-villain of a heroine.”
Aniruddha Guha of DNA: He gives 4/5 to the movie and has showered praises on Piggy Chops and Vishal Bharadwaj. According to Mr Guha, “Priyanka Chopra takes on a character that most of her contemporaries would shy away from and enacts it in a way only she possibly can. For a woman with as many shades as Susanna, Chopra gets a crack at a role of a lifetime. And Bhardwaj ensures she sparkles like never before.”
Mayank Shekhar of Hindustan Times: He has given the movie 3 stars. He says the movie is a “Dark, demented dream run!” He has also some good words for the leading lady “For Priyanka Chopra, who plays the Anglo-Indian protagonist, this is unquestionably a role of a lifetime. She has you by the eyeballs. So does most of the movie.” Mr Shekhar also gives the readers a brief insight into Susanna’s quest for marital bliss and why she ends up murdering her husbands? As per him “Each husband of Susanna’s, it turns out, is sick in the head (and bed) in uniquely separate ways. She adopts each one nonetheless, sometimes trusting hope over experience.”
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama: He says “the film will meet with diverse reactions – some will fancy it, while some will abhor it!” He says “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.” Also he feels that the second half of the movie is drab and lengthy. “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.”
Rajeev Masand of Ibnlive: He is disappointed with the film and says the movie “tests your patience” He has given the movie a rating of 2 on 5. “Boring isn’t a word you’d normally associate with a Vishal Bhardwaj film, but ‘Saat Khoon Maaf’ seriously tests your patience. The episodes don’t link with each other seamlessly, and the director moves on quickly from one to the next, never giving us a sense of reflection or regret (if any) on Susanna’s part after committing a murder.” Mr Masand gives us a list of the murdered husbands- a possessive one-legged army-man, a drugged-out rockstar, a sexually sadistic Urdu poet, a two-timing Russian spy, a lust-driven ageing police officer, and an old-fashioned natural pharmacist but says that “Few of them, however, have any scope to make a lasting impression.”
