Aah, now this one could really have been better. This is what one ends up exclaiming as the concluding reels of 'Yeh Faasley' start running. Reason being that what seemed to be a really promising idea, as conveyed through intriguing promos, turns out to be something that wasn't fleshed out to the fullest. Ultimately what one ends up seeing is a movie that would have been better off had it been made as a tele-film or an hour long 'Saturday night suspense' kinda show for television.
To think of it, the premise of 'Yeh Faasley' (leave aside a really weak and an inconclusive/non-enticing title) was quite decent. A girl (Tena Desai) really close to her father (Anupam Kher) only to realise that he could possibly have been a murderer of her mother - now there haven't been stories on the same subject shown on the big screen in the past.
Of course the genre by itself isn't anything overtly original; after all there have been instances of such films made in the past when a close relative/friend is suspected of being a murderer. However when a first time director comes on board, in this case being Yogesh Mittal, you always have some good hopes that there would be some new story telling at least. Reason being that there are fresh ideas taking form all over the industry today (case in point being 'Tanu Weds Manu' that released recently). With the knack of making even common stories interesting by means of the way they are being told, even the common subjects start looking interesting on screen if presented well.
Unfortunately for 'Yeh Faasley' though, this isn't really the case as the film fumbles, especially due to the curse of the second half (which by the way is getting more and more troublesome in last couple of years especially). Hence, what starts off with a promise of an interesting tale only leads one to boredom as it progresses. Now that's particularly disappointing because in a suspense drama, one actually looks forward to the graph only going up as the story reaches it's culmination. It doesn't happen in case of 'Yeh Faasley' due to which as a audience you truly feel that if only there was more meat put into the written material, Yogesh would have managed to make the film half-interesting at the least.
Not that the film is a total let down though. Leaving aside the fact that you aren't quite engrossed with the tale, especially during it's latter moments, there are portions in the first half of the film which do bring you on the edge of the seat. Tena realising that there is something really wrong with her father, his aversion at not quite letting out the truth, their conversations that seem to be meeting abrupt ends, her own investigation as she comes across various people with whom her mother had interacted in the past, Kher being tried in the court of law - one does stay on with the characters here in the quest of 'right' v/s 'wrong'. However as stated earlier, for any suspense drama to work, there has to be a good enough culmination, something which turns out to be a weak link here.
Performances are good here though and that is one silver lining that ensures that 'Yeh Faasley' isn't an unbearable watch. Anupam Kher in a central role is quite good yet again and showcases that he deserves to be seen in more deserving parts. Tena is decent though one wonders how far would she go from here as in 'Yeh Faasley' she isn't seen as a quintessential leading lady. Pawan Malhotra is reliable as well while Rushad Rana is decent. Technically, the film is just average, whether in terms of production values, cinematography or music.
Over and above the fact that 'Yeh Faasley' isn't quite a film that makes it to the top of the must watch activities over the weekend, another factor that would severely hamper it's prospects is a near-to-nil promotion. With nothing known about the film and no one knowing if this film has even released, 'Yeh Faasley' would largely go unnoticed.
Rating: **
Comments