The film revolves around Siddarth(Emraan Hashmi) who is the chief of a local police station in a small town in Goa. Siddarth is on the verge of an divorce with his wife Sonia(Shamita Shetty) after the two have a argument. Sonia doesn't believe in being a typical indian wife who gets treated like a doormat while Siddarth is a chauvinistic and sexist male who is very arrogant. The two are still in love with each other but their egos clash them from making up...
In the meantime Siddarth runs into Anna(Udita Goswami) on one rainy night and the two end up sleeping together. Things take a complicated turn when Siddarth finds out that Anna is married to a man(Sameer Kocchar) who is a drug peddler and a druggist, Anna is pregnant with Siddarth baby and Anna has terminal cancer. Anna also decides to make Siddarth the beneficiary to her will which will leave Siddarth with a huge sum of money after she dies. A confused Siddarth does not have it in him to leave Anna who is in love with Siddarth.
Siddarth makes a irresponsible decision and decides to give Anna the money that he recovered in a drug raid for her medication in an effort to save her. That night Anna dies in a bomb blast along with her husband..
A police investigation is laid into the death of Anna and the investigating officer is none other than Siddarths estranged wife Sonia. Siddarth is now in a race against time to find out the truth behind Annas murder as all the fingers point to him, recover the drug money and also win back the love of his wife......and he is running out of time!
The story of the film is a frame-to-frame remake of Carl Franklins B Grade Denzel Washington starrer OUT OF TIME but debutant writer/director Mohit Suri has added in the right indian ingrediens and adapted the movie to fit into a desi mould with utmost perfection. The film moves at a breakneck pace and has a tight screenplay which takes the viewer on an unexpected ride with twist after twist taking place. The viewer is taken on a roller coaster ride with not much time to think and gets completed involved with what unfolds in front of them.....which is precisely what a thriller is all about.Sadly for those who have seen OUT OF TIME the film will be predictable all the way.
As a director Mohit Suri is definetly one to watch for. He makes a confident debut and proves that he has all the makings of a capable director. He manages to direct a thriller with the right amount of tension and develops the story very well. He is successfull in keeping the viewer hooked to the story throughout and Suris style of narrating the story is very modern. He knows the art of story telling from the word GO! Like other Bhatt films ZEHER too has its fair share of sex scenes, but unlike say MURDER where sex was a selling point, the sex scenes in ZEHER come as part of the story and don't appear sleazy or there for tittilation purposes at all.They merge in well with the story and one must give credit again to Suri for not taking the audience for granted and realising that when making a movie the "story" is the key to win the audience. No doubt Mohit Suri will continue making films for the Bhatts as he is part of the Bhatt family.....and he is a welcome addition to the list of new and talented newcomers in the industry...not as a writer since the story is completely unorignal but as a director!
A point to note is that the last few Bhatt films have had certain parts of one movie overlap into another with stories and scenes being rehashed from one movie to the next. For example the climax of KASOOR was a copy of WHAT LIES BENEATH, the Bhatts then made a exact remake of WHAT LIES BENEATH with RAAZ. Ditto for INTEHAA and AETBAAR which practically had the same story inspired from FEAR. In ZEHER too one can witness shades of MURDER and JISM.
The performances in the movie are first rate and the entire cast has performed exceptionally well.
Emraan Hashmi is no doubt a very talented boy. The bad boy image that stuckk with him in FOOTPATH, MURDER and TUMSA NAHIN DEKHA is still there in ZEHER but he manages to infuse life into each and every character. Also each and every character he has played is different from the next and he is not afraid to experiment with roles be it in his unconventional debut as a gangster in FOOTPATH, as a out and out villan in MURDER, as a spoilt brat/ loverboy in TUMSA NAHIN DEKHA and now in ZEHER he plays a arrogant and sexist cop with a bad attitude to perfection as well. This is no doubt his best performance to date and Hashmi makes the most out of his well written character. He is consistent throughout and is FANTASTIC in the outburst scenes. The actor has good screen presence, his dialogue delivetr is fantastic and he manages to strike a chord in the dramatic scenes too...no doubt Emraan Hashmi is here to stay!
Shamita Shetty as Sonia also gives her best performance to date and finally she gets a chance to ACT rather than just prancing around in item numbers or two bit roles like in MERE YAAR KI SHAADI or BEWAFFA. Shetty too is given a well rounded role with a lot of meat and she proves that given the chance she can deliver a knockout performance as well. Her expressions and delivery are spot on she looks gorgeous, classy and dignified throughout.
Udita Goswami after a promising debut in Pooja Bhatts PAAP is great here in a negative role. She fits her character to a T performs with confidence. Although her character disappears in the film for most of the second half her character manages to leave an impact on the viewer till the very end.One must say at times Goswami does tend to ape Bipasha from JISM and even her wardrobe at times matches Basus.
From the supporting cast Ninad Kamat as Emraans best friend is FANTASTIC!! Kamat is a talented actor who has never got his due since his debut in Priyadarshans DOLI SAJA KE RAKHNA-hopefully after the success of ZEHER people stand up and take notice of him.His comic filled dialogues and punchlines hit the spot each time.
Technically the film is a slick product. One must give credit to Fuwad Khan who manages to make each location in Bhatt films to darn GORGEOUS!!!First it was Pondicherry in JISM and now Goa in ZEHER..
Another major plus point in the movie are the dialogues(Jay Dixit) which are intelligently written and help elevate the character to a certain extent. As always music plays an integral part in Bhatt films and they are known for their super hit soundtracks-ZEHER is no different.Although a film of this genre doesn't require songs Suri has placed songs in a very smart manner in which they flow WITH the story rather than acting as speedbreakers. AGAR TUM MIL JAO, and WOH LAMHE WOH BAATEIN are melodious and well picturised. Also note the entire second half of the movie is devoid any songs right till the very end just before the credits role.
All up where does that leave ZEHER? For those who criticise Bhatts for their remake will also detest ZEHER as yet again the movie is NOT orignal. For those who overlook the fact that Bhatts remake Hollywood hits and take them for what they are-ZEHER is the best Bhatt product in a LONG time packed with taut story, great direction with superb story telling, first rate performances and melodious music. After SAAYA this is another remake where the remake is better than the orignal!
Final Rating: * * * ¾
