Aparajita Saha

Well begun is half done.

Unfortunately, Kasoor doesn't make it beyond this halfway mark.

The film starts promisingly enough. Simran Bhargav (Lisa Ray) is the lawyer defending Shekhar Saxena (Aftab Shivdasani), a man accused for the brutal murder of his wife.

His motives are plenty: One, he doesn't love her. Two, she is rich. Very rich. But Shekhar swears by his innocence and Simran swears by him.

Is he telling the truth? Is she defending a guilty man? If he isn't the culprit, who is? Is Shekhar and Lisa's relationship based on uncontrollable lust, desperate need or unadulterated love?

The simple questions the film answers. The complex ones it avoids.

Of these answers, some are satisfying while some aren't. There are too many loose ends that lead to an unsatisfactory incompleteness.

Director Vikram Bhatt ventures into bold territory with the unusually daring relationship shared by the protagonists. But he doesn't explore the ground covered by them or dig deep below the surface.

He doesn't even scratch it. He simply states it and throws in a song or three to distract the viewers from wondering about the inevitable.

What draws them to each other? How different are two people's reasons for being in a relationship -- in fact, the same relationship?

Is intimacy a way to wield power over someone? Does love only heal and conquer or does it also destroy and blind, and how does one know the difference anyway? Is lust more real or love?

Theirs could have been the kind of relationship that one debated and argued over. Justified and criticised. Condemned and lauded.

Instead, it is reduced to a few insipidly passionate moments and well picturised songs.

Quite a pity, really, since there are so many elements begging to be dissected and unearthed.

The movie proclaims itself to be a thriller but even in that, it fails. The thrills are rare.

Kasoor awkwardly stumbles between a love story and a suspense courtroom drama, neither of which are satisfying, compelling or convincing.

The story has a few diversions, most of which are halfhearted attempts at creating suspense. And the courtroom sequences appear insincere and unexciting.

The cast, albeit an interesting one, is strictly mediocre. Model-turned-actress Lisa Ray fails to look the part of a lawyer. Her designer clothes don't do much to promote the intellectual nature of her profession either. But hey, she looks good and isn't that what actresses are meant to do anyway? She remains impassive through most of the film.

Aftab Shivdasani takes turns at being the mournful husband, the dejected lover and the mystery man. He looks bored through most of the scenes, even in those when he does have the desirable Ms Ray in his arms.

Of the cast, Ashutosh Rana, in the role of an inspector, is wasted and under-utilised. It is ironical that the best actor of them all has the least to say or do. Apurva Agnihotri is passable as the anguished lover disguised in a friend.

The songs composed by Nadeem-Shravan, though pleasantly hummable, tend to divert from the story at times. Note Kitni bechain hoke and Zindagi ban gaye ho tum being the most ear-pleasing ones.

Kasoor incorporates a substantial amount of background music as well. Most of which dosesn't quite fit in with the film's proceedings.

All in all, this is a film that attempted an intriguing premise but failed when it didn't fully explore that very premise and take it to its logical and rightful conclusion.

CREDITS:

Cast: Aftaab Shivdasani, Lisa Ray, Ashutosh Rana, Apurva Agnihotri

Director: Vikram Bhatt

Producer: Mukesh Bhatt

Music: Nadeem-Shravan

Lyrics: Sameer

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'I'll be glamorous, not sleazy!': Lisa Ray
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'You'll see a barrage of me in 2001!': Aftab Shivdasani
'I want to make a film that expresses me': Vikram Bhatt