Director: Tisca Chopra
Cast: Radhika Apte, Divyendu, Anurag Kashyap, Anshumaan Pushkar, Sauraseni Maitra, Sharad Saxena
Where To Watch: Zee 5
Ratings: 3 stars
Saali Mohabbat Review: By now, whenever and wherever there is a mere mention of Radhika Apte, rest assured that the screen will be on fire with her performance. The film Saali Mohabbat is no different. It starts off with Smita (Radhika Apte) sitting alone at a railway station, followed by a flashback mode that mirrors her life... in her own words as she tells a story to a bunch of her husband's friends at a party. It's also the same party in which she sees her husband secretly flirting with another woman.
Under the pretext of telling a story, she recalls her life with her drunkard and habitual gambler husband Pankaj Tiwari. There enters her sister Shalini Saxena (Sauraseni Maitra) who two-times Smita’s husband with Pankaj Tiwari (Anshumaan Pushkar) and Police Inspector Ratan Pandit (Divyenndu). Despite knowing about her sister and her flirtatious ways, Smita keeps quiet.
One fine day, Smita finds the blood stained dead bodies of her husband Pankaj Tiwari and her sister Shalini Saxena. Investigations by Inspector Ratan lead to Gajendra Bhaiya (Anurag Kashyap), the owner of a gambling den in which Pankaj was a regular client. It also comes to light that Pankaj owed Gajendra a huge amount of money as mounting debts since he was on a losing spree at the gambling den.
Who is / are the killers of Pankaj and Shalini, what is the motive behind their murders and what ultimately happens to Smita is what forms the rest of the film.
Saali Mohabbat Review: Actors' Performance
As stated above, the name of Radhika Apte simply assures on-screen fireworks in the form of her performance. With this film, she has yet again proved as to why she is one of the most ‘versa-style’ actors of today. Right from the word go, she not just owns up the screen, but also sets the film on fire with her effortless performance. Her smooth oscillation between the varied shades of emotions will surely make you drop your jaws!
Following a close second is Divyenndu who comes up with a restrained but convincing performance. Veteran actors Anurag Kashyap and Sharad Saxena deliver strong performances within their available screen time. Other actors like Anshumaan Pushkar and Sauraseni Maitra ably carry the film forward.
As for the film’s direction, kudos to Tisca Chopra for having chosen to step into direction with such an unconventional film. Tisca’s directorial abilities find a perfect muse in Radhika Apte who seamlessly blends herself into the character. Here’s looking forward to more films at the hands of Tisca.
The film’s writing (Tisca Chopra, Sanjay Chopra) is simple yet appealing. Cinematography (Vidushi Tiwari) is taut. The film's editing (Sanyukta Kaza) is commendable. The film’s music is decent and so is its background music (Karan Kulkarni).
Saali Mohabbat Review: FPJ Verdict
The film may not be appealing to everyone as it has got its section of audiences who love such kinds of whodunit thrillers. But, since it's an OTT release, word of mouth will form the keyword for the film to be declared as a hit or a flop!
