Raqt - Ek Rishta Hindi Movie
Some stories get way too ambitious for its canvas to hold. Such are times when you see garish products and films which are nothing but hogwash. Adi Irani and Shiva Rindan's Raqt - Ek Rishta falls in that very category. The story of obsessive compulsive disorder hasn't been tackled broadly in Bollywood till now so for novelty sakes the movie did have an edge on the others. However, the makers go ahead and ruin every chance the film had to make for a nail-biting psycho thriller.
Raqt is about the fatal obsession of an adopted daughter for her mother's affection. Sonia (Sweta Bharadwaj) is a single mother who adopts her sister's daughter Suhani (Sheena Shahabadi) when her sister and brother-in-law died in an accident due to her carelessness.
Sonia, along with her maid Maria (Farida Jalal) pampers Suhani to not let her miss her parents. However, her love has an opposite effect on Suhani who gets obsessively attached to foster mother. Unaware of her child's problem, Sonia focuses on her career and becomes a successful heroine. One day, Suhani sees Sonia and a friend arguing. She kills him, and Sonia takes the blame and is jailed for seven years.
Sonia comes back and tries to make life easy for Suhani. She settles in a remote place, where psychiatrist Yuvaraj (Gulshan Grover) who likes Sonia discovers that Suhani has a major psychiatric problem. Suhani hates Yuvaraj's attention towards Sonia and feels she will be sent to a hostel, again away from her mother. And she sees Yuvaraj learning the truth about her from Maria.
Suhani kills Maria. Yuvaraj who loves Sonia wants to help her and Suhani and tries and make this look like a normal death. But can he really help her? Will Yuvraj able to save himself and cure Suhani? Is there really a cure to this killer obsession?
The story of an obsessive lover sure has been a staple in Bollywood films but the obsession of a daughter for her mother is a first onscreen. However, both Adi Irani and Shiv Rindan, despite a potent plot, falter in its execution.
The script clearly lacks not just good direction but also decent budget. There are way too many subplots and needless characters that keep popping up in the film diverting the attention of the audience and fizzling out the thrill. Moreover even the cinematic liberties taken are a dampener. For example, how easily can you get away with a murder? The protagonist does time and again. Also there's a scene where Suhani easily walks into the backseat of Yuvaraj's car even though she is way too far away from the spot. Also why despite being a psychiatrist isn't Yuvaraj able to cure Suhani?
It is these details that reduce the credibility of the film and fail to leave any impact.
The production quality too is very mediocre.
On the acting front both Shweta Bharadwaj and Sheena Shahabadi are decent in their bits. Gulshan Grover is passable. Farida Jalal and Shakti Kapoor do nothing but ham.
Raqt - Ek Rishta in short is a film that could've worked better if for an experienced director and good budget.
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