I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Debutant director Bijoy Nambiar bravely treads a path that other debutant Hindi film directors steer clear of. Shot with style, 'Shaitan' is dark and twisted. Even though the story elements such as reckless teens causing a fatal road accident and teens staging their own kidnapping may have been used many times before in Hindi films. But, 'Shaitan' combines these with other story elements and does it with more grit and is given a unique treatment.The visuals look raw. The solid screenplay, sound effects and editing, the score which freshly and comically tributes many classic Hindi songs, the excellently choreographed action scenes and chase sequences create a tense atmosphere but one that is full of energy and adrenaline. Once the film gets going, especially after the accident sequence, there's always something happening on screen.Of the five actors who play the wild young friends, Kalki Koechlin stands out as the traumatized, disturbed and insensitive Amy. Rajeev Khandelwal is terrific as the no-nonsense copper determined to find Amy. Rajit Kapur and Pavan Malhotra provide great support. Rajat Barmecha makes a funny appearance.To say the least, 'Shaitan' is refreshing, dark, funny, gritty, gory and wicked. Anurag Kashyap has done it again and Bijoy Nambiar seems to be among the promising new directors of today.

I watched this movie with a lot of expectations and was hoping some sensible stuff from Anurag Kashyap's production house. But after watching the movie I wondered who the Shaitan (Daemon) was. Was it the director (Bejoy), the writer (again Bejoy), producer (Anurag) or the viewer (a.k.a. me)? More on this later.The movie started off quite well with good introductions of main characters but slowly it started going nowhere. A lot of situations in the movie were useless. For e.g. the issues between the inspector (Rajeev) and his wife were unexplained. Also there was no real need of this particular track.Towards the second half, the director (I wonder who suggested him this) decided to put a lot of songs instead of a background score. Can you imagine songs playing in the background one after the other while you show the serious stuff on the screen?As far as performances are concerned, the inspector (Rajeev) was the best followed by the commissioner (Pawan), KC (Gulshan) and Zubin (Neil). Amy (Kalki) and others were average.Overall it is a one time watch movie that you want to forget asap.So who was the real Shaitan? I guess it was the director as he could have made a more tight and gripping stuff.

Any person who uses the zoom function on the Camera, or allows his Cameraman to do so is not worth his salt as a Director. Any person. At any time. It is inexcusable. Read any textbook on filmmaking and if you don't find this tenet underlined, you've got to go back to film school again. Surprised to find raving reviews by notable critics, but I suppose what these people were talking about was the inter-cutting sequences of the Khoya Khoya Chase Scene. It was meant to add to the anxiety, that the Inspector (God bless his mute marriage to the Van Gogh), had finally set his sights on them, when of course he hadn't. A brilliant piece of Cinematic Semiotics shot to hell by Nambiar. In my vision, not worth it, not when you don't have a story to tell.The plot is as hashed as a neighborhood role-playing by under-sevens on a summer afternoon (no wonder it's fun to make films, eh kids?!) and the screenplay does not exist. It doesn't. Primarily, the film fails to live up to the hype of drug-crazed yuppies who discover an inherent evil streak. They don't. They all turn out to be pretty conscientious young fellers who get into a jam. The drugs don't make them want to go berserk with violence, or do crazy macabre things, so no point blaming them. The story loses its steam right after plot point 1; act II never builds up the most basic of anxieties, (watch some Hitchcock, guys!) and then the director decides he wants to do a Guy Ritchie, right there, on the spot, with Rajat Barmecha, who, dare I say, excels in his cameo. Act III is not only predictable, it flat, and if that's a cliché, so is the end. The dialogs are generally insipid, and the acting, is mostly ham. Pavan Malhotra is his good self, Rajit Kapoor is well chosen, but the main characters, with the exception of Kalki, seem to be wading through treacle. Kalki shows her true worth as a theater actor. In fact she transcends the medium quite skillfully and is, wait for it.... reminiscent of Shah Rukh Khan in some of his earlier flippant ones like Yes Boss, where he carried the entire engine of the story on the strength of his acting. In retrospect, the screenplay ought to have been reworked about 17 more times, the back stories developed in detail, and someone should have read the Basics on Directing Fiction. I sat through the film and the only anxiety that permeated my being was the worth of my hard earned Rupees falling. Then the film ended, and the screen flashed with those revelatory words: It's a Getaway Job! and I realized I had been had. A brilliant marketing job, guys.Perhaps the problem with Indian Cinema is deeper rooted than that which meets the eye. Pun intended. If we are unable to comprehend the referential codes that make up alternative cultures, including the pseudo-modernism of the urban youth, who themselves merely imitate what television feeds them, then will we not be left with a caricature of human society, a facsimile at best? And a poor one at that.

The self realization process is always tough. You have to deal with inner demons and divinity. Some people call it Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is about to know your emotions and being aware of how to express it. There are lot of among us who doesn't know how to express rage. They prone to rage instantly and make unfavorable decisions. Shaitaan talks about it but unfortunately in unorganized way. The director, cinematographer succeeds to set loud premises for the film, but then they fails to deliver organized, tight film. It is script that fails to realize resolution point. Director tried too many concepts but he never concluded a thing. This film ends with uncertain note. Director wanted to tell that inner demon can destroy you and there is also divine side which can be pulled out by love, sympathy, affection. Screenplay is real star of the film. Sequence where two protagonist fights in front of Jesus gives you multi-dimensional perspective. Shaitaan comes with surprises, because only predictability of inner demon is its unpredictability. Love can takes you away from your inner demon. It was justified in the film.Acting department has got new talent. Rajeev Khandelwal is the one who stands out. You can see maturity in his acting. Kalki's story is a high point of the film, especially opening sequence that exactly portrays inner demon. Actually director treats it as a part of personality rather than predefined emotion. Cameramen used similar camera movement in the introduction sequence of the film that enriches the experience. I enjoyed that part most. Background score is funny because it brings out the sarcasm. There are very small details that make this cinema more interesting. Things like original name of Amy that sounded like typical Indian rural name, which emphasis on contrast between personalities. Hammer car that denotes loud, care free attitude towards life.Somehow this film reminds me Danny Boyle's Trainspotting, may be because of care free attitude that portrays in both films. In the era so called entertaining cinema, this kind of cinema maintains balance in Hindi film industry,