What's It About?
Haseena Parkar, the biopic, is a full-on courtroom drama, which tries to decode the life and associated criminal activities of India's most wanted fugitive - Dawood Ibrahim's late sister Haseena Parkar. She is accused of running the Indian leg of the business of Dawood, who sits in Dubai and controls everything that happens in Mumbai. This film traces the journey of the brother-sister duo. However, Haseena trying to play the ideal housewife somehow finds herself amidst the unfortunate incidents which destructs her family's life, and ultimately takes her life too. Is her 'bhai' instrumental in destroying her life and making her the Godmother of Nagpada, also called as Aapa? Is she really guilty of running his illegal business in his absence? These are many of the questions which till date remain unanswered post Haseena Parkar’s death in 2014. The film showcases her journey from Haseena to Aapa.
Shraddha Kapoor As Haseena Parkar
What's Hot?
The dialogues
are witty at various instances, and that keep you entertained. The first half
has some really good one liners, which make you guffaw.
The casting of
many of the supporting cast and crew was bang on. They looked so real, and
their portrayal made their respective characters pivotal to the plot.
Shraddha Kapoor
is fabulous as Haseena Parkar, but...
A Still From Haseena Parkar
What's Not?
...Sadly, the
same can't be said about Aapa. With cheeks filled with cotton, it seems
Shraddha can barely speak, let alone act in the older avatar as Aapa.
Siddhanth Kapoor
does his level best, but somehow his acting isn't up to the mark. His character
couldn't create the necessary aura that needed for playing a Don's character.
Plus it seems like he is constantly harping on the sole dialogue 'aur beta, sab
khairiyat?'
Gangster films
are known for impactful punch lines. However, Haseena Parkar leaves you with no
catchphrases that you can come out of the theatre and start using in your daily
lingo.
Haseena Parkar
also does something remarkably impossible - a love song in a court scene. We
get to see a song (actually two of them), where the lady with chubby cheeks
has her relatives, her circumstances, her gali, mohalla and everything
that tries hard to earn her a bonafide goodwill certificate. What was director
Apoorva Lakhia smoking?
The basic
intention behind this film looks flawed. You walk into the film, hoping to
understand the controversial life journey of a woman, who became the Godmother
of Nagpada, because of being Dawood's sister. But all you get is a plot which
unintentionally victimises and thus justifies her warped sense of power under
the pretext of protecting her family.
The courtroom
debate, at times, gets irrelevant. So much so, at one point, the judge
comments, ‘Hum in par novel nahi like rahe’.
The
brother-sister equation, which should have been real-life like wasn't there at
all. At one point Shraddha tells her brother, how even after her marriage, she
can’t step out of the house without a burqa. Now it should have been sad and
feminists should have felt a sense of awww, but that does not happen. Why so? Because
right in the previous scene, she had gone to the market without a burqa.
Continuity, anyone?
Coming to the
story, it's non-gripping as the approach towards some of the most important
characters is so juvenile that there is little scope of improvement. The jumpy
narrative throughout leaves you confused and irritated.
Above all, the
poor direction by Apoorva Lakhia. Check out any of his previous gangster films,
and then watching this will make you wonder why he hit so low.
Shraddha Kapoor In Haseena Parkar
What To Do?
Even if you are
a huge fan of Shraddha Kapoor, you shouldn't head out to watch this real-life
inspired tale. It will leave you angry because of the lost opportunity of
making a good female-driven gangster film.
Image Source:youtube/swissentertainment & instagram/haseenaparkar