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'Ankahee': part original, part copied take on infidelity
By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service

Film: "Ankahee"; Starring Aftab Shivdasani, Ameesha Patel, Esha Deol; Directed by Vikram Bhatt; Rating: **

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It's the Other Woman's fault...always. She's the home-breaker and the disruptive force creating havoc in doctor Shekhar's (Aftab Shivdasani) life.

This is Vikram Bhatt's cathartic voyage into the damned world of infidelity. Though "Ankahee" deals with situations, feelings and positions that aren't comfortable to contemplate, the director brings a certain freshness and élan to the dynamics of the extra-marital relationship. 

Unlike Mahesh Bhatt's "Arth" to which Vikram's film pays homage, "Ankahee" tries to tell the story of betrayal and redemption from both the husband and wife's point of view. "Arth", if one may recall that classic, restricted itself to the wife's point of view.

Ameesha Patel, looking frail, lovely and vulnerable, gives her best shot to the wife's role. The script provides her generous space to put forward the bereft and betrayed wife's case.

Esha Deol has the author-backed role. Seen completely from the outside (a la Smita Patil in "Arth"), her character gets its jittery edge from the actress' untapped layers of provocative and impassioned uncertainties.

But it's the husband's take on the unfaithful mistake that provides the most interesting fulcrum to the murky yet mollifying triangle. As played by Vikram Bhatt's favourite actor Aftab Shivdasani, Shekhar is a weak-willed but noble soul who betrays his utterly devoted wife for a glamorous and unhinged woman who shrieks shouts whines and whimpers, all at once. 

Esha's portrayal of the Other Woman is shockingly denuded of sympathy. We see her as a basket case alternating between rage and depression, forcing the man to his knees, making you wonder why the hell would a decent guy get involved with a hysterical 'manic depressive' (as certified by the film's in-house shrink played by a totally miscast Amin Hajee).

Initially the doctor-actress relationship reminds you of Vijay Anand's "Tere Mere Sapne". That's before Vikram Bhatt gets seriously explorative about infidelity. The way he uses spaces between the man and his wife as their marriage comes apart at the seams is truly a sign of maturity in the mellowing director. 

Pravin Bhatt's camera goes for sighing long shots to denote a state of alarming estrangement between the couple. Vikram Bhatt's fascination with "Arth" becomes evident in sequences such as the one where the wife lands up at the hyper-strung actress' place to plead for her marriage through a closed door. 

More originally, there's a sequence where, to cover up for his unfaithful sojourn in Goa, the guilt-ridden husband screams, "Why do you have to be so devoted to me? Why is it always about me?" 

Girish Damija's dialogues catch the tenor of a suburban relationship without losing their cool intensity. That goes for the rest of the film, which is at once anxious and laidback, agitated and calm. The synthesis of serenity and neurosis gives the narrative a cutting edge.

What you miss are those spatial expanses that separate a feature film from a soap opera. To preserve a sense of intimacy, Bhatt shoots most of the film in confined spaces with glimpses of the outdoors lending a strange feeling of curbed freedom to the narration.

What cannot be doubted is the director's integrity of purpose. The characters' anguish rings true quite often, thanks to routine references to Mumbai's newspapers and rendezvous points. 

The cast is sincere and dedicated to the task of making the triangle look convincing. More peripheral characters would have connected the plot to a larger social context. 

There's an interesting cameo by an actor playing Esha Deol's devoted man Friday who observes his benefactor's lapse into paranoiac passion with stoic grief. You will find such mute and loyal observers all over the film industry. 

"Ankahee" courts silence on many occasions. Pritam's background score is mildly evocative. But the songs try to be unnecessarily trendy in their intensity. 

'Ankahee' - all about love and betrayal
Indo-Asian News Service

Mumbai, May 16 (IANS) Director Vikram Bhatt examines the tragic impact of his extramarital involvement with actress Sushmita Sen in "Ankahee" releasing Friday. 

The film, starring Aftab Shivdasani, Esha Deol and Amisha Patel, reveals the intense emotional and mental crisis Bhatt's wife and daughter went through after the devastating disclosure of his affair with Sushmita. 

The infidelity story goes like this:

Shekhar (Aftab Shivdasani) is a role model in his job as a doctor and his personal life is equally inspiring - he's got a doting wife Nandita (Amisha Patel) and a loving daughter Sheena. A perfect family till Miss World and Bollywood star, Kavya Krishna (Esha Deol), walks into his life. 

Shekhar falls head over heels in love with beautiful and vibrant Kavya. For lonely Kavya, his entry is like a blessing in disguise. 

His obsession for her increases by the day and nothing seems more important than Kavya and his need to be with her. He gets rid of his wife, daughter and work to create space for her. 

On the other hand, Nandita is unable to come to terms with the fact that the only man she's ever loved has walked out of her life without a second thought. Not only that, he has also abandoned their daughter for the other woman. 

Long ago Mahesh Bhatt made "Arth" based on his extramarital involvement with Parveen Babi and the film became a milestone in his career. The power packed performances by Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shabana Azmi and Smita Patil are still talked about.

Produced by Pritish Nandy Communications, the cast of "Ankahee" is not as impressive as "Arth" and the theme is not new either. There is some scepticism about the film, but what can lure audiences is the opportunity to take a peek into their favourite actress' private life.
 

Metro release for Bhatt's 'Ankahee'

The distributors of Vikram Bhatt's "Ankahee" plan a phased release for the film with limited prints in metros before they take it into the interiors as it is a "multiplex film", reports Bollywood Trade.

The film, reportedly an autobiographical account of the Sushmita Sen chapter in Bhatt's life, is produced by PNC and will be released at multiplexes in all major metros first.

Distributor Ravi Machhar, who is releasing the film with merely three prints in the Nizam territory, said the film is essentially a multiplex film meant for the classes. 

"It is an emotionally intense film that the intelligentsia will connect to. That's why we will release it with a handful of prints to start with and increase the number of prints as the demand grows," he said. 

Director Bhatt admitted to "feeling broken inside" when he saw the film. He had earlier denied the film had anything to do with Sen though he maintained that it was about a man who feels trapped between two women.