8 X 10 Tasveer. Review on 8 X 10 Tasveer Movie

The movie combines mystery, family drama, deception and supernatural powers. It definitely had potential. And given the presence of good actors like Akshay Kumar, Ayesha, Sharmila etc. it could definitely have been a thriller that the director set out to make it to be.

Only, it is too tame. Kukunoor fails to build any kind of excitement around the supernatural powers Jai (Akshay), a Environment guardian in Canada, possesses. And while you are trying to figure out what is it that he is doing, his father dies due to a cardiac arrest and subsequent drowning on a boating trip. They all promptly pay respects and pollute a serene Canadian lake with the ashes.

A former detective, Javed Jaffery, arrives and starts calling it a murder for no reason. No reason, I say, ’cause he failed to convince me why he got suspicious in the first place. Anyway, Akshay sets out to find the truth and keeps suspecting everyone around him. And using his powers, he enters the photograph taken moments before the death to see what went on until the time of the death. That’s his specialty in the film.

I’ll not reveal the plot here of course. The movie goes through the usual course of dead ends and startling (?) discoveries before the mystery is revealed. Kukunoor relies on the cliche to build the thrill. Like a car parked in the shadows moves in after the house is empty, everyone seems to have a secret beyond the obvious etc. I hardly felt any suspense in the air during the first half of the movie. And I failed to understand why a guy would abandon search for the killer just because his girl friend is upset, when he has hard evidence of cars trying to run him over and visual proof (even if only in his mind) of foul play on the boat.

The director clearly fails in one more aspect. In building realistic emotions when needed. To Kukunoor’s fault, he relies a lot on the strength of the word and less on the expression and body language. Sample this. Akshay walks in on his mom(Tagore) hugging his dad’s best friend (Karnad), within days after the dad’s death. Karnad turns around in a split second after the entry and without alarm or anger, says, ’It isn’t what it seems to be!’. Stale! Taken straight from the Clichepedia! You aren’t to be blamed if you expect some fireworks in this scene. On the contrary, the characters proceed to mouth a few lines, as if they’re having a coffee table conversation about a haircut. Totally docile body language, and tones of voice resembling Heads of State exchanging pleasantries.

I was disappointed!