TRAILER TALK—HASEENA PARKAR

“Mumbai mein bhai toh bahut huye par ‘Aapa’ sirf ek”. “Loggon ne izzat bakshi, maine qubool ki”. As soon as these words resonate, you know that Haseena Parkar never wanted to be the person she ended up becoming. Shraddha Kapoor steps into the shoes of the dreaded crime lord to bring the life and times of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister on the big screen in Apoorva Lakhia’s Haseena Parkar. We recently saw the trailer of the film and to say the least, we think it’s an extremely interesting story going to waste.

The film is set in the post 80s, back when Mumbai was Bombay and the city was seeing an upsurge in the growth of the underworld. Haseena Parkar is the story of Haseena, seventh of 12 siblings, who was forced to follow into the murky world of crime owing to her brother Dawood Ibrahim’s tarnished image. The film traces Haseena’s journey from being a young innocent woman whose husband was killed by members of a rival gang to seeking revenge and becoming a feared gangster who was involved in extortion, hawala rackets and funding Bollywood movies.

After the 2013 disaster Zanjeer, Apoorva Lakhia returns to the movies with Haseena Parkar. And with a very heavy heart, all we can say is that things just don’t seem to be working for him. With stylish crime thrillers like Shootout at Lokhandwala and Mission Istanbul to his credit, Lakhia’s craft appears to have gone completely haywire. And that is what happens with Haseena Parkar’s trailer—such an interesting and impactful premise falls prey to a loud treatment. The dialogues are over the top, cinematography garish and the music, almost annoying. Remember how the recent trailer of Ashim Ahluwalia’s Daddy which is set in the same time period was so well treated that it had us glued to the screen? Haseena Parkar fails at creating that impact.

With performers like Alia and Anushka cementing their feet as the most bankable female stars, Haseena Parkar is easily Shraddha Kapoor’s most important film till date. The actress finally seems to be stepping out of her comfort zone and that is truly a sight to behold. She impresses with her get-up and shows glimpses of a powerful performance. And joining in on the action is real life brother Siddhanth Kapoor who plays Haseena’s brother, the third most wanted man in the world, Dawood Ibrahim. Here’s one actor who lives his characters inside out. Dawood’s casting is on point; he looks menacing, evil and most importantly, a man with no fears. How we wish we could see him on-screen more often.

With a release date of 18 August 2017, Haseena Parkar will enjoy a solo release as no other film is scheduled to come out on the same day. However, it could face some competition from Akshay Kumar’s Toilet: Ek Prem Katha which releases on August 11 and is being speculated to enjoy a bumper opening. Therefore, a lot depends on the initial reviews and word-of-mouth which will help decide if Haseena Parkar’s boat sinks or sails at the box-office. Till that happens, watch the trailer here and decide if you’ll be flocking to the theatre for this one or not!

Produced by Swiss Entertainment, Haseena Parker releases on 18 August 2017.