Daraar was the third remake of Sleeping with the enemy and is saved from being the worst only because Yaraana was that bad. Agnisaakshi was the only film that managed to work both in terms of BO as well as critical and audience appreciation.
The kings of suspense, Abbas Musataan did try to bring novelty with their treatment. If one has no idea what the film is about, the introduction sequence, which is muted with the background score, manages to generate interest. That probably is the only good thing about the film. From there on, it goes downhill.
Casting is another problem. The good actor that he is, Rishi Kapoor was old to play this role. And also he had played the exact same role in Yarana. The exact same role! Rishi Kapoor has also enacted in 2 of the Hindi remakes of the Hollywood flick Coming to America - Prem Rog and Pehla Pehla Pyaar. Juhi Chawla was good. She was even nominated at the Filmfare awards for her portrayal of the battered wife. Incidentally, Madhuri Dixit was also nominated for playing the same role a year earlier in Yarana. It was Manisha Koirala, who featured in the only successful remake of this Hollywood film (Agnisakshi) and wasn't nominated! Now that's irony. Arbaaz Khan made a confident debut and earned his first (and probably only) Filmfare award.
Abbas Mustaan's films always had hit music and his association with Anu Malik usually sold well. This time, the combination failed. The music, at best, was below average. None of the songs are worth remembering, even though a couple are rip offs of Pakistani Hits (something Anu Malik is famous for).
The direction was alright, but given bad casting, everything seemed unbearable as the film went on and on. And the climax was absolutely criminal. I expected so much more from Abbas Mustaan. The badshaahs of suspense cinema had delivered a big dud.
The kings of suspense, Abbas Musataan did try to bring novelty with their treatment. If one has no idea what the film is about, the introduction sequence, which is muted with the background score, manages to generate interest. That probably is the only good thing about the film. From there on, it goes downhill.
Casting is another problem. The good actor that he is, Rishi Kapoor was old to play this role. And also he had played the exact same role in Yarana. The exact same role! Rishi Kapoor has also enacted in 2 of the Hindi remakes of the Hollywood flick Coming to America - Prem Rog and Pehla Pehla Pyaar. Juhi Chawla was good. She was even nominated at the Filmfare awards for her portrayal of the battered wife. Incidentally, Madhuri Dixit was also nominated for playing the same role a year earlier in Yarana. It was Manisha Koirala, who featured in the only successful remake of this Hollywood film (Agnisakshi) and wasn't nominated! Now that's irony. Arbaaz Khan made a confident debut and earned his first (and probably only) Filmfare award.
Abbas Mustaan's films always had hit music and his association with Anu Malik usually sold well. This time, the combination failed. The music, at best, was below average. None of the songs are worth remembering, even though a couple are rip offs of Pakistani Hits (something Anu Malik is famous for).
The direction was alright, but given bad casting, everything seemed unbearable as the film went on and on. And the climax was absolutely criminal. I expected so much more from Abbas Mustaan. The badshaahs of suspense cinema had delivered a big dud.