Ankahee

Aftab Shivdasani, Ameesha Patel, Esha Deol & Hrishitaa Bhatt

Another extra-marital saga - one would probably have this pre-conceived mindset before watching Vikram Bhatt’s Ankahee.

The film does not have big stars, lacks grandeur and chartbusters, violence or even an item song. So why should one waste money on it?

Because it has plenty of emotion (not melodrama) and is a pragmatic look at infidelity. Vikram Bhatt’s story is about a person who is a victim of circumstances, yet he has only himself to blame.

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Shekhar (Aftab) leaves wife Nandita (Ameesha) and daughter for beauty queen Kavya (Esha), who is lonely and looking for true love. She was his patient, but his caring attitude drove her towards him. In the process he loses his peace of mind and ends up nowhere. That’s the story.

Shekhar’s pain is clearly Vikram’s pain and that is evident. Vikram gets the best out of actors who are yet to get their due.

With due respect to the script, the film is heavily performance-oriented, too - Aftab, Ameesha and Esha get equal footage and play their respective parts with grace.

However, if you look back, then it’s Ameesha’s performance that remains in your mind. She is dignity personified in the film, playing a woman betrayed in marriage, going all out to save it and in the end choosing her own path.

Esha and Aftab both have author-backed roles. Aftab comes out with a very mature performance after a long gap (

Kasoor

) and

Ankahee

should get him noticed. Esha too deserves kudos for her portrayal of the other woman. She doesn’t go the Urmila way in

Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya

(but she is nowhere close to Smita Patil in

Arth

). It was good to see Hrishitaa Bhatt playing a grown up Sheena (Shekhar and Nandita’s daughter) in a cameo that impresses.

Ankahee

is definitely a brave effort on Vikram’s part. It is a subject that has been dealt with umpteen times, but the director manages to make

it his own and that, too, in a very refreshing way.

Finally,

Ankahee

is a story that you can relate to.