Bollywood films have taught us a thing or two about gangsters: those reformed rakes make the best husbands and those brooding giants are putty in an angelic girl’s hands. Siddharth Malhotra, who plays the deadly thug Guru in Ek Villain, pays homage to those time-tested movie traditions in the Mohit Suri-directed thriller. A cop describes him as a demon-incarnate who is ruthless when it comes to killing his adversaries. The first few scenes are aimed at glorifying his evil streak — roasting his enemy alive and dragging a woman and child by their hair are all in a day’s work. He lives in a dark, gloomy space (metaphorically speaking). But the ray of sunshine comes in the form of Aisha (Kapoor). She’s chirpiness on steroids and has the annoying habit of cracking terrible jokes. Even if the viewers don’t buy into her wit, her impotent gags strike a chord in the cynical Guru. He’s transformed into this caring guy who swaps guns for gooey romance. He now finds joy in chasing butterflies with Aisha and climbing lush mountains housing peacocks that dance after the rain.
All of this would have been endearing, had the good-looking pair enjoyed a crackling on-screen chemistry. However, Malhotra’s neck tattoos display more emotion than him. He’s roaring and screeching, but there’s no soul there.
Director Suri who drew out the best from Kapoor in his earlier film Aashiqui 2 doesn’t re-create the same degree of magic here.
Riteish Deshmukh, who’s mentally castrated by his sadistic wife, provides the twist to this jaded tale. We wish his serial-killer role had been more fleshed out since his sparks of brilliance are only displayed at the climax.
Mushy songs, inserted at a regular interval, slow down the thriller, making the story sluggish.
But the good news is that Kapoor and Malhotra are divine looking. So watching them is a visual treat. But if you are expecting to be blown away by a cliffhanger of a story, then you are knocking on the wrong door.
