Ek Hasina Thi
Poster
Directed bySriram Raghavan
Written bySriram Raghavan
Pooja Ladha Surti
Produced byRam Gopal Varma
R. R. Venkat
StarringUrmila Matondkar
Saif Ali Khan
Aditya Srivastava
Seema Biswas
CinematographyC. K. Muraleedharan
Edited bySanjib Datta
Music byAmar Mohile
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox[1]
R. R. Movie Makers
Release date
  • 16 January 2004 (2004-01-16)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹4 Crores[2]
Box office₹10 Crores[2]

Ek Hasina Thi (English: There Was A Beautiful Woman) is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir thriller film directed by Sriram Raghavan and produced by Ram Gopal Varma. Urmila Matondkar and Saif Ali Khan starred in this film as the lead roles. The screenplay was by Sriram Raghavan and Pooja Ladha Surti. The film borrows elements from the Sidney Sheldon story If Tomorrow Comes.[3] In her review, critic Ronjita Kulkarni says that it's "loosely based" on Double Jeopardy, while "the film also adapts a scene from The Bone Collector."[4] The film was premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival.[5] The film is usually considered one of the best works of Urmila Matondkar, Saif Ali Khan and director Sriram Raghavan.[6]

Plot

Sarika (Urmila Matondkar) is a single woman staying alone in Mumbai and working at a travel agency. She meets Karan (Saif Ali Khan) by chance who she smites. Though she initially resists his advances, she eventually gives in to his charms and lives with him. Life is good, and one day Karan requests Sarika to host one of his friends for a few hours that he will be gone. Sarika agrees, and Karan's friend turns in with a suitcase at Sarika's place and goes out. It's not until the evening news she sees police gunned down the same guy for being a wanted criminal. Sarika is shocked and calls Karan, who tells her to get rid of his friend's suitcase that he had left at Sarika's place. Sarika takes the suitcase and steps out when suddenly she is intercepted by cops who arrest her as Karan's criminal friend is at her place. Karan requests her to speak to his lawyer Kamlesh Mathur and not to take his name anywhere in this investigation. The attorney advises her to confess the crime, convincing her that since she has a clean record and no prior convictions, the judge will accept her mistake as the first time and let her go.

Sarika complies after being convinced that the judge will give her a light sentence and might even set her free for co-operation. But, the judge sentences her to seven years hard labour without parole. Sarika then realises that Karan and his attorney have tricked her. Karan is an associate to the underworld and that he had her framed to keep police eyes away from him. This realisation is soon followed by the death of her father, the ongoing ordeal of prison life and hatred towards Karan. An elder inmate Pramila (Pratima Kazmi), who has contacts outside the prison, decides to help her. Sarika undergoes a complete change of appearance.

Sarika changes from inside and outside, beginning with her getting rid of her fear of rats. She beats up an abusive inmate Gomati who constantly bullies her. She plans an audacious escape from prison in which she succeeds along with a few inmates. Karan is notified about her escape by Kamlesh Mathur, but Karan gives no further thought. ACP Malti Vaidya (Seema Biswas) sets out to find Sarika after she escapes from prison. Sarika first confronts attorney Mathur, killing him after learning Karan's whereabouts. Sarika learns that Karan is working for a gangster (Abhay Bhargava) who has many illegal operations under his garb & is in Delhi.

Sarika finds Karan in Delhi with his new girlfriend. She takes a room right opposite to Karan's so that she can keep an eye out when he leaves and comes from his suite. She trails him day and night without Karan being suspicious. ACP Malti Vaidya tracks Sarika when she mistakenly calls her mother from a prepaid sim in Delhi. Karan in the meantime is in trouble with a local gangster, Sanjeev, for not laundering money on time. He is picked up from a nightclub by Sanjeev's henchmen and hauled to his place where he is threatened to clear his dues ASAP or face dire consequences. The whole exchange is witnessed by Sarika secretly. As soon as Karan leaves the room Sanjeev is found killed and the whole suspicion falls on Karan.

Karan is naturally suspected of murdering Sanjeev. Karan and his girlfriend are attacked in the hotel that leaves his new girlfriend and few henchmen dead. He escapes just in time before being caught by ACP Malti who reaches his hotel suite in pursuit of Sarika. Karan who is bewildered at Sanjeev's death and his near shave with death wonders if a rival gang bumped off Sanjeev.

Meanwhile, Sarika pretends to run into him. She pretends to have sympathy for him. Karan decides to play with her for some time because she still has not seen through his game. Karan confronts a man whom he suspects to be a traitor, but he believes that somebody else could have sneaked in after Karan went out. Before the man can say anything, Karan kills him, too.

Sarika is amused as Karan gets entangled in a cat-and-mouse game. She steals money from Karan's boss, for which Karan is again made a patsy. However, Karan soon realises the plot. After he confronts and assaults her, she shocks him by telling him that she has burnt the money. Karan takes her to his boss and makes her confess at gunpoint. But she feigns ignorance and claims that Karan made her say so. As his boss's goons attack Karan, he breaks into a fight. Just then, the ACP enters with the police.

In a shootout, the ACP succeeds in killing Karan's boss. The gang is either killed or apprehended. While the ACP herself gets shot, Karan succeeds in escaping. His success is short-lived: suddenly, Sarika emerges from his back and holds him at gunpoint and makes him drive to a secluded spot. After knocking him out, she chains him in a cavern infested with rats. As Karan regains consciousness, Sarika tells him how she used to be scared of rats and she chose this spot because she wanted him to go through the pain and suffering that she went through while she was in prison. Karan is baffled at her talk, but she leaves him in the cavern, with light from a flashlight pointing towards him.

Karan screams, but nobody hears as he is in a secluded place. Soon the flashlight goes out and Karan loses strength. A pack of rats attacks and kill him brutally (shown by dimming of lights and screams). Karan dies a long and painful death. With her mission of exacting revenge from Karan accomplished, Sarika eventually surrenders to the police, turning in the bag of money that she stole from Karan's boss to the ACP. The film ends showing Sarika looking at inmates in a prison and leaves as if she finds her life's purpose.

Cast

Production

Saif Ali Khan was unsure about doing the project, especially portraying such a cunning and ruthless character. But the makers convinced him, and he ultimately signed the film. For his first role as a villain, he received a lot of appreciation for his performance.[7][8]

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by Amar Mohile. Two songs play mainly in the narrative. The first song 'Neend Na Aaye' that plays at the beginning of the film has been sung by Pandit Jasraj.[9] The title song 'Ek Hasina Thi' plays in the second half of the movie.[10]

Reception

Taran Adarsh wrote that "On the whole, EK HASINA THI, in the spirit of RGV's other movies, has some fresh things to say about love, passion, deceit and destiny".[11] A critic from Deccan Herald wrote that "His [Ram Gopal Varma's] ‘K Sera Sera Productions’ conjures up yet another superbly crafted movie; yet another promising director — Sriram Raghavan and yet another virtuoso performance by his muse, Urmila".[12]

Impact

The film was released without much publicity and marketing but eventually went on to do good business at the box office. The film grossed 10 crores lifetime on a budget of 4 crores. Urmila Matondkar received high praise for her role as a merciless avenger and went on to win nominations at all major film award events. Ek Hasina Thi is considered one of the finest performances in her career.[13][14][15][16][17]

References

  1. ↑ "20th Century Fox to leave India". Hindustan Times. 29 January 2005. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Ek Hasina Thi – Movie – Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  3. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (22 January 2004). "Review: Ek Hasina Thi / Bhoot". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 18 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ↑ Ronjita Kulkarni (15 January 2004), "Who's better: Urmila or Saif?" Archived 20 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Rediff. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
  5. ↑ David (16 June 2006). "The Films of Ram Gopal Varma – An Overview". Cinema Strikes Back. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  6. ↑ Singh, Jai Arjun (28 July 2019). "'Ek Hasina Thi' (2004): Truth, disguised as lies". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  7. ↑ "Top 10 Saif Ali Khan performances". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  8. ↑ "Ahead of Andhadhun, here's looking at Sriram Raghavan's debut film Ek Hasina Thi". The Indian Express. 4 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  9. ↑ @phanishankar (1 May 2019). "yeah, in the titles also it is mentioned as background score -Amar Mohile and there is Pandit Jasraj's 'Neend Na Aaye' song in the background during the titles" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ↑ "Ek Hasina Thi : Lyrics and video of Songs from the Movie Ek Hasina Thi (2004)". Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  11. ↑ Adarsh, Taran (14 January 2004). "Ek Hasina Thi Movie Review: Ek Hasina Thi Movie". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. ↑ K., Kavitha (18 January 2004). "Ek Hasina Thi - Hindi". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017.
  13. ↑ Patel, Dipali (4 February 2017). "As She Turns A Year Older, Here Are 10 Standout Performances By Urmila Matondkar". ScoopWhoop. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  14. ↑ Thombare, Suparna. "From Masoom to Ek Hasina Thi: 5 best performances of Urmila Matondkar". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  15. ↑ "RANKED: 6 Best Performances of Urmila Matondkar in Bollywood". Desimartini. 4 February 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  16. ↑ "Happy Birthday Urmila Matondkar: 7 Times The 'Rangeela' Girl Impressed Us With Her Brilliant Act!". FilmiBeat. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  17. ↑ "Urmila Matondkar Career Milestones". madeinatlantis.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
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