Film: Hate Story IV (Crime drama thriller)
Critic’s Rating: 2 / 5
Cast: Urvashi Rautela, Karan Wahi, Vivan Bhathena, Ihana Dhillon, Gulshan Grover
Director: Vishal Pandya
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
Language: Hindi (A)
Story:
Revolving around four principal characters – the Khurana brothers Rajveer (Karan) and Aryan (Vivan), the latter’s partner Rishma (Ihana) and Taasha (Urvashi) – this is a tale of passion, power play, ambition, love, deceit and heartbreaks. Aryan and Rishma are looking for a fresh face to launch their new cosmetic line. Rajveer feels Taasha has the ‘it’ factor to be the face of their campaign. While he wants to possess her, his elder brother suggests he woo and win her like he has with Rishma, while he himself lusts for her.
But this is a hate story, as the twists and turns reveal the truth, from India to London, amidst the backdrop of Mayoral elections.
Review:
The movie begins on an interesting note. Turns out that it’s the middle of the story that is being narrated in flashback. You would expect the proceedings to hook you, but the pace slows down every now and then. The interval sets the ground for the twists in the second half.
On the flipside, the narration lags off and on. And the songs only seem to stretch the slow parts. Except the recreated version of Himesh Reshammiya’s Aashiq Banaya Aapnae, which marks Taasha’s introduction in the beginning, the soundtrack doesn’t seem to work for the movie. Inder Bawra and Sunny Bawra’s background score ranges from intriguing to jarring at times. Sunita Radia’s cinematography is pleasant and easy on the eye.
In keeping with his previous instalments of the franchise, director Vishal Pandya delivers yet another revenge story. What also works against the film are the dialogues. You don’t know whether to laugh or cringe at lines like “Tumhe uski pant ki zip bandh rakhne ko kaha tha aur tumne apne pajame ka naara khol diya.”
Considering that this is yet another tale of hate and vengeance, minus an established cast, you’re not too disappointed with the performances, because you didn’t go with any expectations. Karan, who has done some notable work on television, could have done better. Vivan tries too hard to impress and Ihana lends due support. Urvashi seems to be content oozing oomph in the titillating scenes to go an extra mile in the emotional ones. Gulshan Grover plays his part well as Vikram Khurana, tycoon father of Aryan and Rajveer with political ambitions.
Verdict:
Watch it if you’re a die-hard fan of the franchise and would ‘hate’ to miss this story.
