Vishaal STAR: Sunday, April 05, 2009

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8x10 Tasveer Movie Review
April 3, 2009 3:56:47 PM IST By Martin D'Souza, Bollywood Trade News Network


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Nagesh Kukunoor gives this flick a super Hollywood feel and manages to pull off a slick thriller. But I have a problem with the end, which escalates, or should I say degenerates to a climax of a typical Bollywood masala film. But this is not to deny the finesse with which this film has been captured on camera and the climax when the murderer is revealed. But you pretty much guess the involvement of one of the characters in the film.

CHECK OUT: Will 8X10 TASVEER click at Box Office?

Akshay Kumar is shattered by an incident, which takes place when he is perhaps eight years old. Deeply traumatized he absorbs the power of venturing into a photograph to understand what could have transpired, thus helping many who come to him for help when the police have failed. He now has the unenviable task of venturing into a photograph, clicked just moments before his father could die, to find out whether it was murder or natural death. His journey to unravel the mystery keeps you on the edge of your seat.

What the incident was that moved him to these powers is vaguely shown, and you realize towards the end that it was not a convincing shot because his parents were not at all shattered by that huge loss. In fact, it looks like a picnic out when the tragedy was colossal. I will not divulge what the tragedy was, because that would mean giving the story away. But I have a question for Kukunoor. How could you show such a tragic incident so nonchalantly? I mean, we as an audience think it is the loss of a football, when the fact is little Jai (Akshay Kumar's) world has come crashing down. And his parents, I mean they do not even acknowledge the loss, or were they not told of the scene you were canning? Even the hospital scene where Akshay is helped by a staff on duty for a blood transfusion in a storeroom is not happening.

Akshay Kumar as a forest officer in Canada is convincing and so is his performance. No tomfoolery here. There's not much for anyone else to do, with the exception of Jaaved Jaffery who impresses in his role as a cop. The action sequences are slickly shot and the camera moves delightfully capturing every thrill. The background score is fantastic. If only Kukunoor had been more open about the sequence in the flashback, the finale would have been well received. I mean, the audience is no dodo. Or perhaps he had no faith in his script that he had to indulge in a vague hotchpotch of a plot (read flashback) to come up with the climax.

What Kukunoor was looking for was the climax of Wolfgang Petersen's 1991 thriller, SHATTERED. That climax was out of this world.

Having said that, this movie does thrill and chill.

Rating - 2.5/5

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8x10 Tasveer

By Taran Adarsh

Starring Akshay Kumar, Ayesha Takia, Sharmila Tagore, Javed Jaffrey, Girish Karnad, Anant Mahadevan
Rating: *1/2

Nagesh Kukunoor enters a new zone with 8x10 Tasveer: Suspense-thriller. His choice of the genre and subject material is also right. Yet, 8x10 Tasveer goes wrong, horribly wrong.

Now what was that? This is one question that haunts you at the end of the show. And, seriously, you want to direct this question to Kukunoor, who is also credited as the writer of this film.

Okay, let's dissect... The concept is interesting. The atmosphere is perfect. The mystery deepens with each passing minute. Just when you thought that Kukunoor had pulled it off, a twist in the tale pulls the carpet off your feet. The film crumbles and the impression generated by some brilliantly executed sequences evaporate into thin air.

For any whodunit to succeed, it ought to hold your interest till the very last frame. Most importantly, the answers raised in the screenplay have to be convincing and justified.

But 8x10 Tasveer gets unbearable towards the penultimate 20-25 minutes. When the mask is taken off the killer's face, you are surprised. But the reasons that compelled him to act that way are childish. What happened, Mr. Kukunoor?

To cut a long story short, this tasveer is out of focus!

8x10 Tasveer is about Jai (Akshay Kumar), who possesses supernatural powers. Jai is of Indian origin who works as a forest ranger in Canada. His life is shattered by a loss of an important person in his life - his father (Benjamin Gilani). This personal tragedy leads him to use his unique supernatural powers to unravel the mystery.

Now let's get to the root of the problem: The discrepancies in the script. Of course, 8x10 Tasveer is a whodunit and it would be sacrilege to reveal the end or the identity of the killer, but the reasons that compel the murderer to commit crime after crime are unbelievable and far from convincing.

The moment the truth is out in the open, from that point onwards, the writer doesn't have convincing answers to offer. There are so many gaps that remain wide open till the end.

Nagesh Kukunoor goes two steps ahead as a technician, but five steps behind as a storyteller.

The film has been shot stylishly and the breath-taking locales of Canada and South Africa only give the film a picture perfect look. But the screenplay is faulty. So faulty that you exit the auditorium with questions and more questions in your mind. The outcome fails to convince.

Vikas Sivaraman's cinematography is top notch. The locales are splendid and the DoP has captured them with élan. There's no scope for music in the film and the three songs (opening titles, romantic song and end credits) are passable. The background score (Salim-Sulaiman) is electrifying.

Akshay pitches in a sincere performance. 8x10 Tasveer is a complete departure from the kind of films the actor is popular for and it only goes to prove that he's ready to experiment. Ayesha is natural.

Sharmila Tagore is graceful. Jaaved Jaaferi is first-rate. Girish Karnad, Benjamin Gilani, Ananth Mahadevan and Rushaad Rana are perfect in their respective roles.

On the whole, 8x10 Tasveer disappoints. The film goes wrong, in fact horribly wrong, in the penultimate 20-25 minutes, which is the lifeline of any suspense-thriller. Nagesh Kukunoor has missed the bus this time!