Kasoor Explained

Kasoor
Director:Vikram Bhatt
Producer:Mukesh Bhatt
Starring:Aftab Shivdasani
Lisa Ray
Music:Nadeem-Shravan
Cinematography:Pravin Bhatt
Editing:Amit Saxena
Studio:Vishesh Films
Distributor:Eros International
Sony Pictures Networks India
Runtime:151 minutes[1]
Country:India
Language:Hindi
Budget:[2]
Gross:[3]

Kasoor is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language legal thriller film directed by Vikram Bhatt and produced b Mukesh Bhatt's Vishesh Films. It stars Aftab Shivdasani and Lisa Ray in her Hindi film debut.[4] Ray's voice was dubbed by Divya Dutta,[5] [6] while Shivdasani's voice was dubbed by Bhatt himself.[7] Apoorva Agnihotri, Irrfan Khan and Ashutosh Rana appear in supporting roles. The film was released on 2 February 2001,[8] and was a moderate commercial success.[9] [10] It is notable for the soundtrack composed by Nadeem–Shravan.[11]

The film is an unofficial remake of the 1985 American film Jagged Edge,[12] with the climax being borrowed from the 2000 American horror film What Lies Beneath, which was also adapted unofficially by Bhatt into a full-fledged film in 2002.[13] [14] [15]

Plot

The film starts with the murder of Priti, wife of Shekhar, a wealthy and well-known journalist. Inspector Lokhande investigates the case and accuses Shekhar of the murder, saying he has enough evidence to arrest and convict him. However, upon getting bail from the court, Shekhar asks his lawyer to fight his case for him; however, his lawyer tells him that he will not be able to fight his case because he is a corporate lawyer and only fights civil cases. He suggests Shekhar ask Simran Bhargav, who is a skilled criminal lawyer in his firm, to fight his case.

Shekhar goes to Simran's house to convince her to take his case. Simran tells Shekhar that she'll defend him only if she is convinced that he is innocent. Simran is battling inner demons over a case in which she got a man convicted for a crime he had not committed. Her guilt increases when she learns that the innocent man had committed suicide in custody.

While representing Shekhar, whom she considers innocent, Simran falls in love with him – a part of Shekhar's plan to win her trust. They end up spending the night together. Throughout the case, a mysterious man sends clues to Simran, which helps her prove Shekhar's innocence. It is revealed that Shekhar was having an affair with another woman, and his wife Priti was having an affair with Jimmy Pereira. When Simran learns this, she is heartbroken and decides to leave the case, but Amit tells her to keep fighting the case. After the court declares Shekhar innocent, Simran spends the night with Shekhar at his house. The next morning, while opening his closet, she finds a typewriter hidden between sheets.

The typewriter proved to be the one the mysterious man used to write clue letters to Simran with earlier. Simran realizes this because the typed letters all have a flyaway 't' on them.

Simran realizes that Shekhar is the murderer and the mysterious man who wrote the letters to her. She then contacts Inspector Lokhande about the typewriter. He tells her to come to the police station with the typewriter. She continuously ignores Shekhar, who asks her for dinner. Shekhar realizes that Simran knows the truth. Shekhar quickly reaches her house and tries to kill her, but Simran kills him in self-defense and reconciles with Amit.

Cast

Soundtrack

Kasoor
Type:Album
Artist:Nadeem-Shravan
Released:December 2000
Recorded:2000
Genre:Feature film soundtrack
Label:Sa Re Ga Ma
Producer:Nadeem-Shravan
Prev Title:Dhadkan
Prev Year:2000
Next Year:2001

The music of Kasoor was composed by Nadeem-Shravan. This was their second album after comeback. The lyrics were penned by Sameer. Singer such as Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik lent their voices for the album. The soundtrack received a rating of 8/10 from Planet Bollywood.

Track listing

No Title Singer(s) Length
1 "Kitni Bechain Hoke" 07:25
2 "Koi To Saathi Chahiye" 05:32
3 "Zindagi Ban Gaye Ho Tum" Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik 05:35
4 "Dil Mera Tod Diya" Alka Yagnik 05:07
5 "Kal Raat Ho Gayi" Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu 07:32
6 "Mohabbat Ho Na Jaaye" Kumar Sanu, Alka Yagnik 06:35

Reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama praised the performance of the lead cast saying, "Kasoor scores the most in that one important department — performances. Credit for this must go primarily to the two principal performers — Aftab Shivdasani and Lisa Ray — who come up with proficient performances."[16] Aparajita Saha of Rediff.com stated, "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."[17]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kasoor. British Board of Film Classification. 18 March 2024. 6 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240906010340/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/kasoor-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zmjgzndk. live.
  2. Web site: Chopra. Anupama. Size doesn't matter. India Today. 21 February 2016. 12 March 2001. 6 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240906005824/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/films/story/20010312-small-budget-bollywood-movies-rake-in-the-bucks-775574-2001-03-11. live.
  3. Web site: New film releases: Kasoor, Aashiq, Grahan. India Today. 21 February 2016. 19 March 2001. 6 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240906010343/https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/20010319-new-film-releases-kasoor-aashiq-grahan-775485-2001-03-18. live.
  4. Web site: 'Kasoor'. Apunkachoice. 29 September 2010. 27 February 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100227065821/http://www.apunkachoice.com/movies/mov147/kasoor-review.html. live.
  5. Web site: Lisa's voice dubbed by Divya in Kasoor . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303061218/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/1193716/Lisas-voice-dubbed-by-Divya-in-Kasoor . dead . 3 March 2016 . IndiaFM . 6 April 2011 . 8 November 2000.
  6. News: I'm loving it: Lisa Ray. The Times of India. 20 February 2016. 3 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240903024741/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Im-loving-it-Lisa-Ray/articleshow/2795774.cms. live.
  7. Web site: Sushmita Sen walked out of Kasoor after break-up with Vikram Bhatt. On Tuesday Trivia. India Today. 2 February 2021. Did you know Vikram Bhatt dubbed for both Aftab and Dino in Kasoor and Raaz, respectively? Well, yes he did. Vikram does that for all his heroes. Listen harder the next time..
  8. Web site: Kasoor — Cast and crew details. Bollywood Hungama. 29 September 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101104124150/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/cast/6783/index.html. 4 November 2010. dmy-all.
  9. Web site: Kasoor - Movie. Box Office India. 18 March 2024. 3 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240903024742/https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=688. live.
  10. Web site: Our weekly box office update: One 2 Ka 4 -- the danger sign. Rediff.com. Kasoor, a small-budget film, brought small smiles on distributors' lips..
  11. Web site: Aftab Shivdasani celebrates 23 years of 'Kasoor': I wanted to play something completely opposite to what I did in 'Mast'; Vikram Bhatt helped me in my transition - Exclusive. Times of India. 6 February 2024. 3 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240903024743/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/aftab-shivdasani-celebrates-23-years-of-kasoor-i-wanted-to-play-something-completely-opposite-to-what-i-did-in-mast-vikram-bhatt-helped-me-in-my-transition-exclusive/articleshow/107465198.cms. live.
  12. Web site: 'I never saw myself gyrating to Govinda'. Rediff.com. 13 December 2019. Though the Bollywood spotlight did not light up Lisa's world, she couldn't let it slip by entirely either. So she tried her hand at Vikram Bhatt's 2001 film Kasoor, an unofficial remake of the Hollywood film Jagged Edge. It was a hit..
  13. Web site: The bad boys of Bollywood!. Rediff.com.
  14. Web site: Indianizing Hollywood: The Debate over Copyright Infringement by Bollywood. The climax scene is nearly a direct copy of the climax of WHAT LIES BENEATH, with the male lead attempting to kill the female lead by administering a paralysis-inducing drug and then leaving her to drown in a bathtub so that she would not expose his murderous past.. 9 June 2024. 3 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240903024806/https://escholarship.org/content/qt0zg193zk/qt0zg193zk_noSplash_2421117246a8e59635a47c8e0ca03980.pdf?t=nnc3dz. live.
  15. Web site: Dino Morea on Raaz clocking 20 years: The off screen romance with Bipasha helped us on screen. Hindustan Times. 31 January 2022. While Morea says it wasn’t an official remake, there were references that were taken from the Robert Zemeckis directed Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer starrer..
  16. Web site: Kasoor: Movie Review . https://web.archive.org/web/20080904222802/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/6783/index.html . dead . 4 September 2008 . Bollywood Hungama. 29 September 2010.
  17. Web site: Kasoor — Review. Rediff. 29 September 2010. 3 September 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240903024745/https://in.rediff.com/movies/2001/feb/02kasoor.htm. live.