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Everybody Says I’m Fine

Movie Everybody Says I’m Fine Director Rahul Bose Producer Vivek Vaswani Cast Rehaan Engineer, Pooja Bhatt, Koel Puri,Rahul

By Ad-Lib Rating: * * A comedy fantasy, which uses a gimmick similar to the Hollywood hit What Women Want, Rahul Bose’s directorial debut ESIF is a stark yet satirical look at Mumbai’s fake Page 3 culture. The film, a simple story about a hairdresser and his unique ability to read his clients minds also has various subplots with an original soundtrack by Zakir Hussain. Xen (Rehaan Engineer) is a good-looking straight hairdresser who runs a successful saloon, where socialites come to gossip more than cut their hair. Xen has a unique hidden talent - he is able to read his clients innermost thoughts as soon as he starts cutting their hair. But this power comes at a price - scarred by his parents` early death in a freak accident, Xen has withdrawn from any emotional contact except with the waves of need and desire from his customers` heads. He’s accustomed to this gift that he has had since a childhood accident, but he gets intrigued when he finds that he is unable to read the mind of one of his clients Nikita (Koel Puri). He wonders why he cannot read her mind and that makes him develop a liking for the girl. The two begin a journey of emotional and sexual discovery that leads to a murder when Niki reveals that she has a dark secret. Through Xen`s hands, we also meet a collection of Bombay personalities, including Rage (Rahul Bose), a disillusioned actor who dresses like a clown, Tanya Ruia (Pooja Bhatt), a socialite dumped by her rich husband and Misha (Anahita Uberoi) a nasty cocaine supplying nosy parker is a regular at the parlour. Xen is an introvert, sensitive sort of a guy who has been a recluse ever since he lost his parents in a freak accident. But Nikita changes all that once she comes into his life. He starts breathing again and realizes that he loves her more than anything else. And to get that love in his life, he goes to any extent, even murdering her pedophile father, a corrupt corporate czar Mr Mittal (Boman Irani), when he realizes that he has made Nikita’s life a living hell. As all these stories begin to intertwine and reach their climax, Xen finds he can no longer be a silent witness and becomes increasingly involved in their lives. And even though he loses his power to read their minds one fine day, he is the happiest man as he no longer has to hear all about their troubled lives. Technically, ESIF is a superb movie - the editing, cinematography, art direction and music are slick and suit the subject perfectly. Even the performances are good - Rehaan Engineer has given a controlled, mature first-rate performance while Koel Puri shows tremendous promise in a spontaneous spirited performance. Pooja Bhatt and Anahita Uberoi are excellent in character roles. The only character that is a bit irritating is that of Rage, played by Rahul Bose himself. Showing a Bollywood wannabe who dresses like a joker and behaves neurotic was not necessary. Overall, writer-director Rahul has fun with his witty concept for the first part of his film, as the sensitive Xen hears the first pangs of teenage crushes and plenty of other intimate information during his days at work. But, the film simply tries to cover too much ground and quickly loses its way as it steers toward darker aspects and an eventual murder. Also, the film is slow at times and moves nowhere despite brilliant performances, an interesting story line and good production values, and for that only the director is to blame. While producer Vivek Vaswani has given his all to this project, everything surely wasn’t fine with Bose while making ESIF.