Star cast: Deepal Shaw, Akshay Singh, Kranti Jha, Chetan Pandit, Nirmal Pandey, Abhijit Lahiri, Pankaj Berry, Jyoti Joshi.
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Plot: Deepal Shaw, a computer software expert, finds herself on the wrong side of law in Bangkok. She is under the impression that she is working for an IT company as a software developer but the truth is that her employers are Internet criminals who want to hack into bank accounts of rich people with her assistance, and transfer their funds for terrorist activities.
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What’s Bad: The lack of face value; the convenient points in the script; the poor promotion.
Verdict: Vikalp may be an interesting film but it will not do anything at the box-office because of the horrifyingly poor start on the one hand and the absence of face value on the other.
Loo break: Not really.
To Watch or Not? If you are a connoisseur of good cinema, venture into a cinema hall screening the film.
Madhav Movies and Onkar Entertainment’s Vikalp (UA) is the story of Rishika Gandhi (Deepal Shaw), a low-on-self-esteem, middle-class Maharashtrian orphan who has studied in a Marathi medium school. She is a genius at computer software development and lands up a job in an IT company in Bombay. Due to no fault of hers, she is insulted by her boss, Mr. Bose (Abhijit Lahiri), and, therefore, resigns. Her immediate boss (Pankaj Berry) arranges another job for her in an IT company in Bangkok. Rishika is more than willing to take up the overseas assignment not just because she has no job in India but also because her boyfriend (Akshay Singh) walks out on her due to parental pressure.
In Bangkok, Rishika joins the IT company and works as a software developer. Her work permit comes in the name of an earlier employee but her boss (Chetan Pandit) assures her that the lapse, due to a fault by the Thai-speaking liaison man (Abhay Joshi), would be rectified very soon for which her passport is given to the authorities. After working for some months, Rishika realises to her horror that the company was one of Internet criminals and that she was being used as a hacker in the name of software developer. She is also horrified to learn that using her expertise, her boss had hacked into the bank accounts of rich people and was to transfer the funds to finance terrorist activities.
Rishika’s attempts to alert the authorities meet with failure because she is unable to break the web of deceit in which she has landed. Her roommate from India (Jyoti Joshi) comes to Bangkok and so does her boyfriend but are they able to help? She also has a local friend in Bangkok who calls himself Soham (Kranti Jha) and who speaks Hindi and Thai. Is he of any help? Who is he actually?
Story and Screenplay
Sachin P. Karande’s story is quite nice, especially because it has a lot of twists and turns. However, Vishal Vijay Kumar’s screenplay, although engrossing, is a bit too convenient. For example, Rishika is shown to be a simpleton but to digest that she is so dumb that she’d work under someone else’s work permit when work permit laws in Thailand are so stringent is a bit too much for the audience, more so because she is well-educated. And well, if she is so dumb, the audience feels that she doesn’t deserve their sympathy. That she is being taken for a ride becomes evident to the viewer the moment the boss starts firing the Thai-speaking liaison man in Thai because the viewer realises, something is amiss. If, in spite of that, Rishika gives her passport away to the man for rectifying the error on her work permit, she comes across as being a true idiot who doesn’t deserve the audience’s sympathy.
In a way, the screenplay writer resorts to extremes to drive home a point. Rishika’s frustration and outburst before she decides to take up the job in Bangkok are extreme. Similarly, her misfortunes in Bangkok are extreme. No harm in such extreme happenings except that in the absence of other diversions in the drama, they get on the audience’s nerves after a point of time.
If, in spite of the above defects, the drama does keep the audience engaged, it is because of the many twists and turns in it and because of the superlative performances, mainly of Deepal Shaw who plays the main protagonist.
Star Performances
Deepal Shaw lives her role. She looks and acts the character of Rishika Gandhi to great perfection and shines in the meaty role. Akshay Singh does a fair job as her boyfriend. Kranti Jha is very natural as Soham, her friend in Bangkok. He has screen presence and is easy in front of the camera. Chetan Pandit plays his part beautifully. Jyoti Joshi does a good job. Nirmal Pandey is effective. Abhay Joshi lends able support. Abhijeet Lahiri is excellent. Pankaj Berry (in oversized and hopelessly ill-fiting coats) leaves a mark. Alok Nath is adequate in a brief role but his dialogues have been dubbed by another voice. Onkar Shinde is good as Rishika’s aeroplane friend. Amit Rai (as the friend who accompanies Rishika’s boyfriend to Bangkok) looks reasonably handsome and does a fair job.
Direction
Sachin P. Karande’s direction is quite nice and his narrative style does justice to the script. The film has no songs; background music is alright. Camerawork and other technical aspects are okay.
The Last Word
On the whole, Vikalp may be a fairly engrossing entertainer but what will come in the way of its box-office performance are several factors – lack of face value, a horrifyingly poor start, dull promotion and a weak title. It will fail to make any mark in spite of some merits.
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