Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Shraddha Kapoor, Riteish Deshmukh, Aamna Sharif

Direction: Mohit Suri

Duration: 2 Hr 10 Min

Genre: Romance

Rating:***

Despite the emergence of hundreds of genres of movie making in Indian cine industry, there exists a few evergreen genus of cine crafting which always manage to fetch the desirable outcomes for the cine merchants. And indisputably romance and crime thrillers are two such ilks of movie making which seldom leave makers as well as the viewers disappointed.

Now after witnessing the latest cine offering of Mohit Suri it looks like that even the Suri has fathomed the verity of aforementioned fact , and hence has come up with his romantic-thriller "Ek Villain". Well it's not for the first time that Mohit has tried his deftness in the genres of romance and suspense thriller, even in the past he has exhibited his cinematic prowess with Aashiqui 2, Murder 2, and Kalyug, but earlier it was under the doyen patronage of Bhatts and Vishesh Films.

This time the man has attempted to move out of the shadow of Bhatt camp, and has come up with his sole romantic-thriller cine enterprise "Ek Villain", which up till great extent is a blend of Japanese movie "Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World" and South Korean revenge film "I Saw the Devil". There is no denying the fact that soon after the release of its mesmerizing music "Ek Villain" turned into one of the most awaited film of the year. And the bumper opening which it has received is one of the conspicuous proof of the same.


Anyhow, let's enlightened about the premise first. "Ek Villain" is the story of a hardened ruthless guy Guru (Siddhart Malhotra), who works for a gangster Caesar (Remo Fernandes) in Goa. With a dark past haunting him ever-since his childhood one fine day, Guru has a rendezvous with, Aisha (Shraddha Kapoor).

Unlike Guru who seldom prefers to smile, Aisha is a bubbly girl full of life and is always eager to fulfill all her wishes before saying a good bye to this world due to some terminal disease (which was never disclosed till the culmination of the movie). After falling love with Aisha, Guru marries his ladylove and quits the grey lanes of crime forever and relocates to Mumbai to give his life a new beginning.

With everything flowing like a fairy tale for Guru and Aisha a sudden misfortune comes knocking the door of the duo's abode in the form of a psychopathic killer Rakesh (Ritiesh Deshmukh) who kills Aisha. Oscillating between the the possible reasons behind Aisha's assassination, devastated and emotionally shattered Guru starts hunting for her killer. So what follows next does Guru succeeds in avenging the assassination of Aisha? or returns back to the grey lanes of crime to know watch this refreshing romantic thriller from the cine lab of Mohit Suri.


Though "Ek Villain" is a mix and match of Japanese movie "Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World" and South Korean revenge film "I Saw the Devil", but inspite of that story writer Tushar Hiranandani has amply Bollywoodised it to match the taste of Indian audience. And there is no second thought about the fact that the deftness with which movie's author has blended the romance and suspense is praiseworthy. And it's because of this exceptional writing of Tushar that "Ek Villain" never gets confined in any particular cine ilk i.e. of romance and suspense thriller.

On one hand "Ek Villain" exposes you to an enticing love story whereas on the other there is a strategically placed dose of suspense and together both these ingredients of movies narrations keep your gaze glued to the celluloid. But all this plaudit doesn't mean that plot of the movie is immaculate in totality, the major flaw in the narration of "Ek Villain", which may somewhere down the line grab your attention, is bleak intensity of both the aforementioned elements, which would have further augmented the over all scintillation of the premise had they been more intense.

In writing department, besides Tushar the man who deserves a warm pat on his back is dialogue writer Milap Zaveri It's the exemplary and full of emotions dialogues not only authenticate the onscreen proceedings, but also add to their magnificence too.


Even in screenplay department Tushaar has literally done miracles for "Ek Villain". Screenplay of "Ek Villain" is thoroughly non-linear in nature and very often gets into flashback mode i.e. shifts from present to past and vice-versa. But even here Tushaar has adroitly exhibited his cinematic excellence and has knitted every sequence of the movie with such a razor sharp fines that there remains no scope for confusion and puzzlement. Throughout its run time the story of "Ek Villain" remains oscillating between the thrill and emotions, but in-spite of that the screenplay writer has thoroughly succeeded maintaining his consistency in extracting the situation specific emotions out of the protagonists.

Although "Ek Villain" is more of a blend of romance and suspense, but in-spite of that it has all the necessary ingredients which are required to make it a complete entertainer. And most admirable traits which Ek Villain's screenplay has are its consistence pace and its captivating potency, which keeps you engrossed through out its run-time. Besides, cinematography of Vishnu Rao, who thoroughly succeeds in etching the fantasy of storyteller on the celluloid with utmost excellence, is superb. Background score of Raju Singh perfectly matches with the spirit of the movie. The fact which deserves a special mention about the background score of Raju is the strategic use of the hit tunes of the films songs in the background score.


Probably discussing about the music Ankit Tiwari, Mithoon et al will be like authenticating an established fact. But all that could be said about the music of "Ek Villain" is that it has all the fragrances which can make it the best music album of the year. Be it "Galliyaan", "Banjara", "Zarurat" or "Awari" every song of "Ek Villain" is not only delightfully melodious, but also captivates your psyche absolutely.

Well as far as performances are concerned then, after proving his acting prowess in "SOTY" and "Hasee Toh Fasee", this time Sidharth will surely astonish you. In-fact it won't be wrong to say that after seeing him performing some extremely typical scenes with sheer conviction many of his critics may eat back their words. Be it the emotional expressiveness of an introvert ruffian or of a passionate lover, Sidharth performs everything with such an ease and excellence, that you seldom feel like taking off your eyes from him. Shraddha is cute and straightaway finds a place in audience's heart by her innocence and spontaneity. Just like Sidharth even Shraddha conveniently succeeds in donning the perfection which she needed to possess in order to make her character worth-loving. And probably after "Aashiqui 2", "Ek Villain" will lead to a drastic increase in the fan following of Shraddha.


After being part of so many hilarious cine cantatas, Ritesh finally rediscovers himself. And after seeing Ritesh portraying the character of a sadistic psychopath, who leads an otherwise mundane life, with boundless excellence one can't stop himself from going gaga over this talented performer. With his every appearance on the big screen Ritesh brings out his frustration so effortlessly that it leaves everyone watching the movie amid a vortex of astonishment.

Aamna Shariff as Ritesh's acid-tongue wife is superb. Remo as gangster looks hard to digest. Although Kamal R Khan does a fine job as Ritesh's flippant friend,, but he looks unwanted as per the demand of the story. Rest of the supporting cast comprising of Asif Basra, Shaad Randhawa,Rishina Khandare are just OK. Prachi Desai thoroughly adds to the glamour coefficient of the movie by her cameo.

As far as BO potential of "Ek Villain" is concerned then undoubtedly it has all the necessary ingredients which can make it a super-hit. The movie is bound to score in the multiplexes and probably will succeed in securing almost equal admiration from masses as well as the classes.

To sum up, although Ek Villain is a blend of "Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World" and "I Saw the Devil" but in-spite of that it has ample dose of that Bollywoodian styled entertainment which masses expect out of a "Desi" suspense thriller. Therefore I am going ahead with three out of 5 for enchanting love story blended with suspense.