Ankahee

Director: Vikram Bhatt

Cast: Aftab Shivdasani, Ameesha Patel, Esha Deol, Deepak Quazir

4.5/10

Mahesh bhatt found his cinematic moorings and his salvation through the semi-autobiographical Arth, which was as much a lesson in storytelling as a treatise on the pitfalls of the extramarital affair. Now you have another Bhatt with first-hand knowledge on the subject expounding the view that adultery is not necessarily committed, it happens.

Unlike Arth, no part of Ankahee is likely to be mistaken for great cinema, thanks to its overly sympathetic look at all the characters affected by the extra-marital relationship. The ultimate aim is redemption for all and Vikram Bhatt uses the time-tested tools of Hindi cinema to ensure that it happens. The film’s main protagonist is a seemingly content married man (Aftab Shivdasani) who puts everything he has on the line for a relationship with a neurotic showbiz personality. The man soon realises what he has got into and spends the rest of his life seeking deliverance. Strangely, Ankahee barely skims the surface of what may have been the number one reason for his infidelity: a bad marriage. Ameesha Patel’s doting-wife act is probably meant to dispel any speculation about incompatibility. “I am on a lifelong vacation, dear,” she coos to her husband and he grins in spontaneous approval, completing a picture of domestic bliss before the storm. What is unexplained is why Ameesha’s doctor-husband so easily falls for Esha ‘Miss World’ Deol and ditches his wife and their daughter.

The character of the other woman is suitably predatory, albeit one that comes with a medical explanation. The viewer possibly has no right to blame her for anything because, as Aftab’s shrink friend certifies, she is a manic depressive. Ironically, Ankahee’s redeeming moments are those that feature Esha. She truly comes of age with her sincere portrayal of a love-seeking, suicidal woman who would do anything to find happiness. Whether Vikram Bhatt will find happiness in the audience’s reaction to his supposedly cathartic film is anybody’s guess.

Ritu Parna Dutta