“Why me?”, she asks emotionally.
“Because you, are well, you”, he says with a living heart
After Kabir Singh, if there is a movie that has seen a simple question about validation of love been answered in such a simple manner, then it’s Shiddat. Just like the Shahid Kapoor and Kiara Advani starrer which had the man choose to wait for the love of his life despite her been married, even in Shiddat the man of the moment, Sunny Kaushal, chooses to pursue only one woman (Radhika Madan), the one whom he is willing to give his life for, despite the fact that she is about to get married.
Kabir Singh had Shahid Kapoor play a surgeon who is intelligent and thinks from his head as well as heart, even as Kiara is totally submissive in her love for him. Here, Sunny is all heart and doesn’t really think from his mind. He thinks he does, but no, he doesn’t. As for Radhika, then well, it’s more about reciprocation of all the love and attention that she is getting, though one wonders whether she actually loves him back as much or not.
“Jab koyi aapko itna pyaar dikha raha ho toh deal kaise karte hain? Confuse ho rahi hoon,” is all that she can mumbles up. Of course, she does say “I love you” when she realises that she could as well have lost Sunny forever. Yes, that makes him feel wonderful as well. He does promise back to her, “Tu 60 saal ki ho jaa, tere chehre par wrinkles bhi aa jaaye, tu kha kha kar moti ho jaa, par tu aaj jitni khoobsurat hai naa mere liye, aage bhi itni hi rahegi.”
No wonder, when tasked with picking a dress for her, he measures her with an imaginary situation of holding her, putting her head against his chest, placing one palm over the head, wrapping around another arm around her waist, and then give the perfect size.
That’s Shiddat for him, because for him, “jis koshish mein shiddat naa ho woh koshish kis kaam ki”!
With all the love that’s demonstrated by director Kunal Deshmukh so wonderfully well, one wonders why he didn’t place the initial scenes between the duo in a better way. Just like Kabir Singh where Shahid Kapoor was all aggressive in announcing Kiara Advani as “Meri bandi”, even in Shiddat there is unabashed stalking involved. Clicking a girl’s pictures without her permission, chasing her around the swimming pool, trying to catch her attention as much as possible, Sunny does it all. Of course the makers may claim that eventually they even showed Radhika entering the men’s room and pulling off the towels of a dozen off men and then picturing them nude. However, still!
No wonder, for all the love and silliness around where the lovers think with their heart, the one who applies his mind is Mohit Raina who has an almost parallel role to play alongside Sunny Kaushal. He is the man of reason, though somewhere towards the film’s culmination he too explores the heart side of his. As someone who is repenting after not quite succeeding in doing much for his wife Diana Penty even after a love marriage, he is solid in his act.
As for Sunny, he is confident and does well as a youngster who is reckless in his approach and doesn’t think about the implications of the next step that he would be talking. On the other hand Radhika gets her first ever filmy role per se, though one waits to see her control ‘trying to be natural’ act soon enough, as that’s what has stayed with her ever since she began her screen rendezvous.
For a film which is a heartfelt tale of love, the music works really well with the title song haunting you way after the film is through and ‘Barbaadiyaan’ turning out to be a song for the clubs, as and when the party season resumes in its full fervour. Producer Dinesh Vijan has a knack of ensuring good music in each of his films and after Roohi and Mimi this year, he does it again.
As for the film as a whole, Shiddat is a unique love story that has the kind of moments that are so realatable, and yet there is a definite filmy feel about it. It touches your heart, especially if you have been madly in love. For some, it may come across as impractical but then for those who truly believe in crossing all frontiers to find the love of their life, Shiddat is a must watch.