First things first! Before we dissect the film, discuss its merits and demerits, discuss whether it worked or not and offer reasons, let's salute the grit, determination, willpower and courage of Nasser Khan, who enacts the role of the protagonist in Shadow.
Imagine a blind person carrying off those hazardous, death-defying stunts... Just that effort deserves an applause.
Now let's come to the point. Shadow is more of a showreel to project the acting abilities of Nasser Khan, so, expectedly, the writing takes a backseat. The screenplay is very '70s and '80s, reminiscent of the masala films we enjoyed so much then. It's just that times have changed and so have the tastes of a big chunk of moviegoers.
Yet, there's no denying that there still exists a sizable chunk of movie-going audience that relishes masala films and Shadow is targeted at them.
The police have not been able to crack a serial murder case. Arjun Sherawat [Nasser Khan] is a man who is unseen and is the criminal. No one knows his identity. This case has been granted to Sanjana [Sonali Kulkarni], a police officer. She has been trying too hard, but all her efforts have been in vain.
Sheetal [Hrishitaa Bhatt] is a press reporter who loves her profession to the core. She works with a news channel and
has information about the case as she follows it very closely. Rahul [Milind Soman], a press reporter from another news channel, has also been following the case step by step. He constantly keeps nagging Sanjana about the case by questioning her from time to time.
Murders are still being committed at short intervals. Meanwhile, Sheetal passes a crucial information to police about the next target of Arjun Sherawat. But Arjun Sherawat meets with an accident and is presumed dead.
Everyone is in a joyous mood until they hear Arjun Sherawat's latest audio clip, which states that he will kidnap a famous builder Habeeb Faizal [Mushtaq Khan] in front of the police on a given date.
Everyone is stunned on hearing this. Meanwhile, Arjun Sherawat succeeds in kidnapping Habeeb Faizal. What happens next?
In an effort to showcase the heroic abilities of Nasser Khan, the writers throw logic out of the window while writing the scenes. The film holds your attention in the initial reels, but goes haywire in the second half. The romantic track between Nasser and Sonali is the weakest link in the narrative. So is the climax, which just doesn't work.
At the same time, the stunts and also a few individualistic sequences are deftly executed. Plus, the musical score [Anand Raaj Anand] is the type that caters to the masses and fits well for this genre.
Rohit Nayyar's shot
compositions are perfect. Plus, technically speaking, it's a polished job. However, the writing lets him down at places.
Cinematography is good. The stunts deserve special mention.
Nasser Khan is not an actor and though this is evident in several sequences, you don't really complain because you haven't come to watch the histrionics in any case. It's the curiosity factor that has drawn you towards this film, right?
Milind Soman gives a good account of himself. Sonali Kulkarni looks grossly over-weight, but does well nonetheless. However, what was the need to make her do an item song? Hrishitaa Bhatt and Samir Aftab get minimal scope.
Sachin Khedekar enacts the mandatory villain's part with ease. Vishwajeet Pradhan and Mushtaq Khan are commendable.
On the whole, Shadow caters more to the hardcore masses mainly. A film for single screens!
Rating: *1/2
