An Honest Review: Haseena Parkar

Movie: Haseena Parkar

Cast: Shraddha Kapoor, Ankur Bhatia, Siddhanth Kapoor, Rajesh Tailang, Charanpreet Singh

Director: Apoorva Lakhia

Producer: Nahid Khan

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

The story of Haseena Parkar (played by Shraddha Kapoor) has been told in flashback mode. We are transported to 2007, the year when she was asked to be in court and for the only time in her life, was questioned left, right and center and the way she answers makes up the whole plot of the film. Until the first half, Haseena’s brother has fled to Dubai and Haseena was widowed because of the terrible (but beautifully done) shooting that Ibrahim Parkar (Ankur Bhatia) had to face.

Although Shraddha did not really convince us as the young Haseena, she was still an endearing choice to have and kept us invested in her character. But, she has shown that she’s a force to reckon with, thanks to the way she has played Haseena in her later years. She’s a We think this film might just do to her career what Neerja did for Sonam Kapoor. The makers chose to cover Dawood’s rise to power story within 5-10 minutes since the movie was about his sister, but, one could hardly make sense of that. Ankur Bhatia has given his heart and soul to his character of Ibrahim Parkar and that can be seen with absolute clarity. He and Shraddha’s Haseena together deliver some of the best moments in the film. The only problem was that he looked pretty much out of place in a setting like Nagpada and wasn’t given too many lines to work with, given the importance his character held in Haseena’s life. Nevertheless, sincere work never goes unnoticed.

Siddhant Kapoor‘s Dawood (Or Bhai) can be passed as a family man who is worried about his family back in Mumbai, but maybe not as a billionaire mafia don who the world fears. But, the brother-sister chemistry was natural and helps the story in a big way. Also, Siddhant’s presence has the ability to steal the frame and that can’t be denied.

The second half of the biopic (which is now more like a courtroom drama) is all about how the lawyers in the court are attempting to connect Haseena to various important moments in her life and how there’s no real evidence to show to prove her connection to them. This part, just like the first, has quite a few are smartly written dialogues, primarily delivered by Shraddha, that keep us engrossed as every new court argument gives us a different angle to how Haseena’s life was the way it was. Although the events shown in the second half are quite interesting, the film fails to make a point of WHO Haseena Parkar really was and instead leaves us with more questions about this already questionable woman. The two primary questions that Haseena Parkar leaves us with are, 1: Was Haseena Parkar actually the person that the media told us that she is? Or, was she someone who just accepted the reality of being born in the same family as Dawood and just made the best use of it?

Overall, if you’re someone who would like to see a smart-paced factual drama with witty dialogues and are ready to let go of a few glitches here and there, you might just want to give Haseena Parkar a chance. But, if you are somebody who really wants to know the woman, you might as well give this a pass and do your own research at your own risk.