by Sonia Chopra

Director : Ram Gopal Verma
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Jiah Khan, Revathi, Shraddha Arya
Rating: **

A film that attempts to break new ground in terms of subject and storytelling should be applauded. And in that sphere, Nishabd doesn't hold back. Yes, it does try to soften the blow to an over-protected audience used to tamer stuff, but the blow is still there.

Domesticated 60-year-old photographer Vijay (Amitabh Bachchan) has a teenaged daughter Ritu (Shraddha Arya) and a wife of 27 years (Revathi), with whom he describes his life as having "no complaints".

Enter his daughter's friend Jiah (Jiah Khan) who comes to their home to spend the holidays. She's everything he's not – young, free, irreverent and brash. An attraction develops, fuelled by Jiah's playful flirtations with him. They confess their love to each other and the story takes it from there.

Before seeing the film, one wondered what would happen -- would the film see their attraction find a conclusion, or would it be a safe touch-and-go romance, like in Dil Chahta Hai? The answer is, it does both. While the film boldly explores their guilty relationship, it also has the most hurried and unexplained endings, that leaves you feeling cheated.

This is one mistake that several filmmakers who touch upon unconventional topics commit – they dare and then they duck. Like in DCH, where the older woman- younger man relationship was conveniently taken care of by the abrupt and unconvincing death of Dimple Kapadia's character. Here too, the film takes a stand, but then shifts.

The interludes where Bachchan's Vijay directly addresses the audience and "explains" how and why the relationship happened are truly unnecessary, and pull down the pace of the film. Is it really necessary to spoon-feed the audience with preachy clarifications?

Predictably, the film rest on Bachchan's able shoulders, as he emotes with all sincerity and brings forth the nuances of his complicated situation. He's especially delightful in a scene where he breaks into an uncontrollable, spontaneous laughing fit recollecting Jiah's antics, as his worried wife looks on, and he can't tell her why.

Jiah Khan, perfectly cast, ably supports him. She's a delight to watch in her effortless rendering of the straight-talking girl who loves making everyone just a bit uncomfortable.

One sore point – Jiah is shown to have divorced parents, hence the insinuation that she's from a broken family...therefore a bit unstable...therefore susceptible to such a romance, is an unacceptable cliché, and very disappointing.

On the opposite spectrum is Vijay's wife, another cliché – a sacrificing, plain, devoid of any sexuality, saas-bahu serials-watching, strict housewife who does 'kit kit'. What's also putting off is the unnecessary and too-much emphasis on Jiah's sexuality.

Apart from provocatively licking a lollipop, her legs miraculously find their way into the frame of almost every shot. Then of course there's the garden hose pipe scene where she's in the garden, drenched and playing with the water pipe (who does that?) as Vijay rushes to click her pictures.

The cinematography (Amit Roy) is noteworthy and the camera effortlessly glides and ponders over the protagonists' lives. Costumes are stylized, and Jiah's look with her noisy junk jewellery and Bachchan in his dapper jumpers and jackets are a treat to watch.

One can admire a film for breaking convention but there are other factors that come into play when one must decide whether to recommend or not recommend a film -- how convincing is it, how absorbing, how moving?

Nishabd, though partly all three, is never fully any one. And part emotions simply don't work in a cinema hall. Watch the film, without expectations, if you are a severe Bachchan fan and like to sample variety in your films. Else, rent out the far more complex and intriguing Lolita instead.