Bhram

Cast: Dino Morea, Milind Soman, Sheetal Menon
Director: Pawan Kaul

Was it a suspense flick?

Was it a love story?

Was it a family drama?

Was it a revenge plot?

The genre of Bhram is as much undefined as the narrative. The story opens on three parallel plots and before you realize it struggles back and forth entering and exiting out of multiple flashbacks on the pretext of non-linear story-telling. The attempt falls flat and the experiment only adds to your confusion. The actual mystery of the movie is to identify where the flashbacks start and end.

Shaan (Dino Morea) is seemingly the most eligible bachelor in town. That’s his Bhram! Strangely he falls for an alcoholic and doped fashion model Antara Tyagi (Sheetal Menon) who seemingly goes bed-hopping with every socialite. Why is she so distressed? A doctor in the film reasons it saying ‘all fashion models have pink thongs and black lungs’.

Shaan gets the bahu-to-be to meet bade bhaiyya Dev (Milind Soman). But as soon as they confront each other, she cries rape. Not to her but to her elder sister years ago. Dev defends saying its just Antara’s illusion.

Meshed between the brother and bride, Shaan sets out to Kullu Manali to unveil the truth. And truths are not illusion which means Dev was actually the rapist. Oops did I spill the beans? Not that it isn’t evident from this lame suspense struggler of a film! The climax is so lousy that you feel deceived by the director for making you sit till the end.

The performances are as uninspiring as the plot. Throughout the film carries a jaded and dated look. Music doesn’t strike a chord.
Bhram doesn’t live up to its genre. The only thing it lives up to is its title. Bhram is literally a cinematic illusion.

The reviewer can be contacted at gaurav.malani@timesgroup.com