Dhokha - Movie Review

Published: October 17, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Muzammil Ibrahim, Aushima Sawhney, Tulip Joshi, Gulshan Grover, Anupam Kher

Retired Bollywood actress Pooja Bhatt directed Dhokha, her third film as a director. She’s the daughter of Indian film director Mahesh Bhatt, and she’s appeared in several of his films. The Bhatts are an interfaith family, and as filmmakers, father and daughter are both interested in themes of religious identity and the psychological damage caused by religious conflict and alienation. The younger Bhatt continues in that vein with Dhokha.

Although his acting career has unfortunately since fizzled, model Muzammil Ibrahim shows enormous potential in his film debut as Zaid, an honest and dedicated cop who calmly endures prejudice as a Muslim. After his girlfriend Nandini (Aushima Sawhney) jilts him because her parents disapprove of their relationship, Zaid agrees to an arranged marriage to a woman he doesn’t know—the sweet and lovely Sarah (Tulip Joshi), whom he quickly comes to love. But his happy home life is shattered when his wife is killed in a terrorist bombing of a Mumbai nightclub—and it turns out Sarah was the suicide bomber.

Compounding his shock and grief, Zaid is subjected to grueling interrogation at the hands of Anti-Terrorist Squad Chief Raj Mehra (Gulshan Grover) because he’s suspected of involvement in Sarah’s crime. However, Zaid is completely innocent and he’s eventually cleared of the charges. Believing his wife is also innocent, Zaid wants to work as an investigator on the case, but he’s suspended from the police force for the sake of appearances and he’s outraged by the unfairness of it. Eventually, he learns the truth that Sarah was indeed responsible for the bombing, and he’s appalled by his ignorance about his wife and his failure to protect her from the people who got her involved in terrorism.

The now-divorced Nandini reappears in his life, but her character serves little purpose other than to pester Zaid to forget about Sarah and move on, which he understandably isn’t ready to do. He sets out to find those who instigated Sarah’s crime, and Nandini disappears from the story without explanation. He returns to Sarah’s hometown and her uncle (Anupam Kher) reveals the horrifying reasons for her actions. Zaid also learns that he must prevent Sarah’s brother from meeting the same fate.

The film is preachy in parts and at times implausible, but its balanced portrayal of the ugliness of hate is disturbing and enlightening. It’s not in any way sympathetic to terrorists, but it explores how someone who has been grievously persecuted could be manipulated to evil ends.

Dhokha is rated Worth Watching.

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