Jehangir Surti's Aa Dekhen Zara has a very interesting premise and the director takes great pains to develop this thriller well, but about halfway through, the film seems to run out of steam, before picking itself up and making its way to the end. It works in fits and starts only as there are too many loopholes in the screenplay.
The storyline is quite original and deals with a down and out photographer, who has inherited a camera from his grandfather. This is no ordinary camera as it can predict events that will take place in the future. It changes the photographer's life and he uses it to amass money for himself and even gets the girl of his dreams. But nothing comes that easy in life and the photographer has to content with the dark and negative forces. The film, takes one on a thrilling journey, where the photographer is racing against time as he can see his own death in the camera. The rest of the film unfolds and details the photographer's bid to evade death and keep his moll and the millions.
Ray Acharya (Neil Nitin Mukesh), plays the struggling photographer who inherits a camera from his grandfather (Biswajeet), which can predict the future. He discovers the special quality of the camera by chance, when he takes a picture of the DJ next door, Simmi (Bipasha Basu) only to get a photograph which shows her being shot. Ray now uses the camera to save Simmi's life as well as mint millions. But soon, there are other people who are after the camera, like the gun toting villain (Rahul Dev) and some corrupt RAW agents. But that's really the least of Ray's problems as he can see his own death in the camera. It is now a race against time for Ray and Simmi.
The film begins with quite a bang as the director manages to hook the audience and draw them into the life of Ray. From then onwards it is quite an exciting journey, but the film seems to run out of ideas halfway through, once the villains make their entry. Of course, to give credit to the director, the film does pick itself up again as the movie moves towards the climax.
The director builds his premise very well, but during the chase, as Ray and Simmi run for their lives, they find time to break into the song and dance routine as well, which kind of takes away from the film's thrill quotient.
The problem begins with the screenplay in the second half of the movie. Surti manages a taut, thrilling first half, but cannot maintain the tempo in the second. With a tighter script and screenplay this could have been an on the edge thriller, right through, instead of being one just in parts.
But what Aa Dekhen Zara has going for it is its music, the title track specially, which add to the youthful vibe of the film. The director has also acquitted himself well in the action sequences, which have also been shot very well. The other pluses for the film are its cast, headed by Neil Nitin Mukesh and Bipasha Basu. After his chilling performance in Johnny Gaddar, Neil comes up with another good performance as the man on the run. Bipasha looks quite sensational in the movie and puts in a competent performance as well. Rahul Dev is quite good as the gunman. Sophie Chowdhury merely looks glamorous and does not impress in the acting department. Veteran actor Biswajeet makes one of rare appearances in a Hindi film in a small role as Ray's grandfather.
But overall, Surti has not done to bad a job and the film is definitely good for a few thrills.
