Oops! Hindi Movie
First-time director Deepak Tijori has certainly upped the skin quotient in bawdy Bollywood. But, the high point of Oops! is the boldness in theme and approach.
Like most films churns out by Bollywood, Oops! doesn't offer a great cinema. But unlike most directors, Tijori hasn't fought shy of calling a spade a spade.
Oops! is not a story about the murky world of male strippers. It's just that the story revolves around a young dancer called Jahaan (Kiran Janjani) who turns a stripper to make a quick buck. Oops! is about relationships, or the lack of them.
Jahaan is desperate to make money, the kind his rich friend Aakash (Vikas Sethi) has. And he has no qualms about letting his life's preferences known, even if that means upsetting girlfriend Niki (Adyasha). He is both a great dancer and a charmer and at a private performance, he gets an irresistible offer - good money to strip. He is easily hooked and soon enough, he is solicited by an older woman, Sharon (Mita Vasisht). Gradually, he gets emotionally drawn to her, but things turn really ugly soon enough.
Oops! has a subject never dealt with in Bollywood. The audacious story had to have a brave approach and a fine balancing act between titillation and coyness. The first half of the film came close to resembling a B-grade porn flick, but that had more to do with the tacky styling and flawed characterization - the downside of the film.
Jahaan's reason for taking to the profession are not convincing enough. He's not as poor as is made out to be, yet there are attempts to justify his decision. The first half is too slow, with the strip shows getting quite a bit of time. Not that people would complain.
Janjani is a visual delight and also good for a newcomer. Adyasha could have been dropped and no one would have noticed.
The director has not cut corners when it comes to talking shop. It's not the skin show, but the boldness through dialogues and treatment that saves Oops! from becoming a tacky thriller.
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