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| Cast: Fardeen Khan, Isha Koppikar, Esha Deol | | Director: Ram Gopal Varma | | Music: Pritam Chakraborty/Prasana Shekhar |
Anupama Chopra, Consulting Editor, Films
After a critical and commercial lashing last week, never-say-die director Ram Gopal Varma, returns this week with the horror-comedy Darling.
Darling is a morality tale for wayward husbands. If you thought Glen Close boiling pet rabbits in Fatal Attraction was the mistress from hell, meet Geeta, a spurned mistress so consumed by revenge, that she returns from the grave to haunt her married lover.
She shows up in his home and office, disrupts his work and even his love-making, until he becomes an emotional wreck.
Aditya aspires to the ultimate male fantasy—a cozy relationship with both wife and mistress but in the end he admits that he is wrong and that married men should just keep their pants up.
Feminists might be offended by the film’s subtext that a sexually aggressive working woman equals serious trouble but truly, you can’t take Darling very seriously.
Parts of the film will make you laugh out loud. Geeta isn’t the typical Bollywood ghost who wafts through hallways singing mournful songs.
She physically assaults Aditya every chance she gets and she has a wicked sense of humor – at one points she feels up his new secretary until the secretary slaps Aditya.
Ramu has a talent for making the ordinary ominous. Darling doesn’t have the scream factor of Bhoot, but some scenes are sufficiently creepy.
Esha Deol, all flaring nostrils and hurt eyes, extends her Ankahee role of a woman you don’t want to mess with. Fardeen Khan, fleshy and decadent, is also perfect for the part of a charming rake who needs to be taught a lesson.
But for a movie dealing with adultery, ghosts and sex, Darling is strangely inert. There are long stretches in which nothing happens. Ramu’s dark humor hits the mark but his emotional and dramatic scenes fall flat.
So, Darling is a bumpy experience—sometimes fun but often slow and boring. Also, the inherent humor of the situation wears thin after the first few disruptive ghost scenes.
Darling isn’t a patch on Ramu’s finest films like Satya and Company but it isn’t Aag either, which I suppose is cause for celebration.
Though be warned: here too you will have to watch Nisha Kothari pouting her lips and thrusting her rear end at the camera.
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Surfer Speaks....
i don't know that what is happening to ram gopal verma i was too shocked to see movies like darling,aag and go by ramu ji
its simply a wastage of time ,money ,and ur precious mind -- tariq (tariq.shafeeq@gmail.com)
i love a lot of moments in the film. iam a biggest ramgopalvarma fan not only fan apart from that.i have been deeply influnced by ramgopalvarma style.music is o.k.but this is a t-series film directed by rgv. -- nandheeswaran (new_rgv@yahoo.co.in)
not a typical hindi horro , jara hatke film hain,
Both Fardeen & Esha suit their roles.... -- Ashok
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