Saali Mohabbat Movie Review: A cleverly spun small-town thriller

It takes a while before the first crime in Saali Mohabbat occurs. The latest Radhika Apte starrer, that arrived on Zee5 on Friday, a conventional slow-burn. We are made privy to a lot of emotional crudity early on, while we wait for the ball to drop. And yet, there is a strange sense of eeriness in the telling of the latest thriller as the plot gradually unfolds — there is something that tells you that danger is lurking nearby. The title too, with its clever worldplay, has a crude feel. And despite the slow-burn treatment, the element of violence creeps up on you. It takes you aback at the moment it arrives, and the people it leaves as the victims.  

Director: Tisca Chopra

Cast: Radhika Apte, Divyenndu, Sauraseni Maitra, Anshumaan Pushkar, Sharat Saxena, Anurag Kashyap

That is one of the many accomplishments in this nifty small-town thriller that puts a smart spin on many tropes we usually associate with a murder mystery. What also adds colour to Saali Mohabbat is its small-town setting, which might look familiar at the first go, but actually breathes with a lot more life and rawness as compared to other recent ‘small town’ movies.  Tisca Chopra, making her maiden film, just keeps finding ways to keep you engaged and arrested. It’s a very assured debut, where the actor-filmmaker is visually curious and exploratory on an emotional level.

This is also a rare film that makes effective use of its production design — the way the rooms align with each other convey a lot about the interpersonal dynamics among the three principal characters — Smita, Pankaj, and Shalini. Tisca designs the visuals accordingly, and makes sure that we notice it too. It’s a flashy style of filmmaking, in that sense, but it works — just like the metaphor built around the idea of plants and trees, which could get tiring or too on-the-nose for some, but nonetheles says a lot about our protagonist, its limitations and its goals.

Like a true-blue thriller, the narrative also succeeds in creating the illusion of the unreliable narrator, and keeps you guessing, even after the main cards are revealed. In a fascinating turn of events, we find ourselves glued to the events, even after the main mystery is unveiled. How many films can you say that about?

In a small touch, even the recurrent visual of a cop not respecting plants enough makes you nervous. There is a lot of anguish and pain in Smita’s life — captured with precision and pathos — before it turns into vengeance. These are people who might look calm, but are simmering with rage within — anything can happen, and Saali Mohabbat captures that mood very well.

Sure, there are some loose ends too. Ratan’s (Divyenndu) family gets a decent, almost light-hearted establishment, but those dynamics don’t lead anywhere. The use of songs, composed with a lot of flavour and spunk and set against these moments of intrigue and sinister, just appears too quirky for its own good. But these remain minorly upsetting sprinkles on a largely satisfying experience. Similarly, Shalini's (Sauraseni Maitra) complex past is alluded to in many scenes, but it also keeps us distant from her — she remains a mystical siren, that is a rather stereotypical choice for this film, for a character like her.

And yet, it’s the casting of Saali Mohabbat which really holds the film through its weakest portions too. Despite an affected accent, Radhika Apte captures Smita’s sense of uneasiness and subdued anger with great effect. Divyenndu is reliable as ever, playing a mousy yet capable-of-evil cop. Sauraseni Maitra brings the right hint of intrigue to her part, even as the way the writers execute the mysterious aura to her character leaves much to be desired. Anshumaan Pushkar holds his own.

And among many of its little gentle surprises, Saali Mohabbat offers a great part to a veteran like Sharat Saxena, who is a sheer delight to watch in his brief but impactful cameo as a sombre, wise old man who makes sure to consistently nudge our protagonist in the right direction. His presence adds a lot of weightage to the narrative. But more importantly, his inclusion in the cast reminds us of the plethora of acting talent that has suddenly come to the fore, in the OTT explosion era in the past few years. Saali Mohabbat is a glowing addition to the list of engaging cinematic works that hold their own, and will probably age well.