With the World Cup fever gripping the nation, the
glamour industry takes a beating. In the simple sense,
Shah Rukh Khan makes way for Sachin Tendulkar.
This week brings the Kapoor sisters together on screen
for the first time, with a Kareena flick Khushi
pitted against a Karisma starrer Baaz.
A whodunit thriller, Baaz, has the odds heavily
placed against it. First, it clashes with two biggies
in Khushi and Satta, and second, the World Cup.
The timing of its release is the single biggest factor
working against it.
Nonetheless, theres chaos in faraway Nainital, as a
cold-blooded killer is on the prowl. Several beauties
are murdered in a similar manner and the police are
hot in the hunt for the culprit. They include a
toughie officer, Harshvardhan (Sunil Shetty) and
Inspector Preeti Rastogi (Preeti Jhangiani).
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Enters Neha Chopra (Karisma Kapoor), an interior
designer, to do the bungalow of the Mayor of Nainital,
Mr Dabral (Jackie Shroff). Neha falls for the charms
of one Raj Singh (Dino Morea), a painter cum
photographer, who stays nearby.
Meanwhile, the next target in the killers list is
none other than Neha. And of course, she (being the
lead heroine), braves against all odds, to book the
killer.
The most essential aspects which make a thriller,
itself go wrong. The Editor seems to be at work
without a crisp scissor in hand, as a lot of scenes
needed chopping. Had the movie been a bit more pacy,
the result would have drastically changed. Technical
faults aplenty, thereby marring the viewers interest.
Moreover, you guess the killer too early, which leaves
no meaning for a thriller.
Of the cast, Aditi Govitrikar is there just for a
dance number. Preeti Jhangiani is sidelined by an
ill-written role. Jackie Shroff, as the mayor, has no
official duty to perform, other than being in female
company. Karisma Kapoor would love to forget this
project as soon as possible. The only redeeming factor
is the performances of Sunil Shetty and Dino Morea.
Both excel with whatever scope they get in their
respective roles.
