It’s one of those basic rules of filmmaking – identify your target audience and play to them. The makers of Zid were well versed in this basic premise and, with this erotic-thriller, deliver on their promise. Movie-goers who are not enticed by this genre will stay away anyway but those who believe in cinema like this will get their money’s worth.
A remake of a 2011 German film Unter Nachbarn, Zid follows Rohan Achrekar (Karanvir Sharma), a crime reporter with a local newspaper in Goa. Nursing a broken heart after his break-up with Priya (Shraddha Das), Ronnie’s life starts to go haywire and he decides to shift into a new house. At his boss’ (Mohan Kapoor) advice, Rohan moves into a new house, where he meets the landlord’s daughter and his new neighbour Maya (Mannara). Maya has a mysterious air about her and she is smitten by Rohan and can’t get enough of him. Returning from their first date one stormy night, Rohan and Maya have an accident, where Nancy is killed. Nancy is the younger sister of Priya. Maya convinces Ronnie that he shouldn’t report the death to the police and it turns into a hit-and-run case.
Soon, a series of mishaps and murders start taking place around Rohan. When Priya returns to find out how Nancy died and asks Rohan for his help to solve the case, jealousy strikes. Maya’s obsession for Rohan keeps growing. How Rohan gets out of a web of lies, manipulation and deception takes the story forward.
The main problem with the film is that the drama is not very convincing but the film is replete with songs and beautiful scenic views blended very well with the narration. Moreover, there is ample scope for titillation, which would make the film enjoyable for its target audience. The film starts slow but it picks up towards the interval. The second half has many twists, which makes it worth watching. However, there are too many cinematic liberties in the writing. Also, the major twist during the climax may not go down well with its target audience.
Directorially, Vivek Agnihotri’s execution doesn’t completely impress. However, he firmly establishes each character. As mentioned earlier, there are too many cinematic liberties but there are also scenes that are written well. For instance, Maya’s character has a certain uneasy air about her but yet the sense of mystery with which the character is portrayed is brilliant.
Cinematography by Yash Bhatt is good and exploits the locales. He effectively captures many frames that thrill and provide justification for a film of this genre. Editing by Satyajeet Gazmer could have been better and some scenes should have been deleted. With a runtime of 129 minutes, the film could have been shortened by at least 20 minutes. The musical score is the saving grace along with the background score, which is very effective.
Performance-wise, Karanvir Sharma is just all right. He fails to hold the narrative together and doesn’t impress.Mannara impresses with her acting ability and is the best of the lot. Shraddha Das is good. Mohan Kapoor does justice to his role. The rest of the cast is at par with the script.
Verdict: Although the film has its flaws, it has everything for its target audience to take it to the safety mark.
