Phhir Review

The biggest issue with 'Phhir' lies in the fact that it hardly thrills. Now that's pretty much a sacrilege for a film which was basically designed to belong to the thriller genre. That it is not a horror/supernatural affair is something that is revealed at the very beginning. Audience are told there and then that it is going to be 'do janmon ki kahaan'. So far so interesting since the talks of 'karm', 'pashchataap' and 'mukti' are some of the key words that do ignite good interest as well. However once it all ties up in the end, it only makes one a lot disinterested in all that had transpired so far.

Story begins with a prologue where a mysterious Mr. Richie Rich had killed himself decades ago when he couldn't take burning in 'pashchataap ki agni' anymore. Of course it is clear there and then that the man is reborn as Rajniesh Duggal, a doctor who is pretty much in love with a law professor (played by Roshni Chopra). The lady disappears, the man begins his hunt, he is supported by a cop (man, where did they find this actor? No, really!) and the hunt leads to a truth which, by the way, is just not shocking. In this hunt of his, Rajneish is supported by Adah Sharma who is a cross between Akshay Kumar (8X10 Tasveer) and Madhuri Dixit (100 Days).

Interesting premise this one but unfortunately not really well executed. So the moment Adah comes into Rajniesh's life, you know that there could well be a connection between the two of them as well. Moreover the way she starts findings clue at every juncture starts becoming way too predictable. What brings intentional laughter though are the scenes involving British cops. Copybook to the core with quite a few dialogues mouthed by them being comical to say the least, the ones that get the house down are classics like 'Guys, let's get organised' or 'Oh my God, what are you saying'!

Even otherwise the identity of the master mind hardly comes across as a surprise. In fact this is where one starts wondering that a story like this could well have been told as a one hour tele-serial instead of being made as a feature film. Moreover the climax where all ends eventually meet as past gets connected to present is just way too convenient. Also, heavy duty dialogue baazi by Dr. Mohan Aghashe around this time only makes one lose complete interest in the proceedings.

Amongst actors, Adah Sharma starts off well in her initial scenes but doesn't really get much opportunity to show any histrionics in the second half. Surprisingly though, she not just looks like Shilpa Shetty from certain angles but even has similar dialogue delivery at places. Rajneish Duggal is decent though he can do better in his emotional scenes, especially the ones that require him to break down. While in '1920' he still got an opportunity to get into a dramatic zone, 'Phhir' just doesn't allow him that platform. Roshni Chopra could well have been designated as a guest appearance.

'Now what was that?' - This is what one ends up exclaiming 10 minutes before the curtains go down for 'Phhir' which has to be one of those rare films coming from the house of Vikram Bhatt (while being directed by Girish Dhamija) that doesn't quite manage to thrill.

Rating: **