Dir: Jennifer Lynch Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Irrfan, Divya Dutta

Hisss - Movie review

Hisss
A; Horror
Dir: Jennifer Lynch
Cast: Mallika Sherawat, Irrfan, Divya Dutta
Raitng: *

What's it about: Rumble in the jungle. A white man discovers new medicine for brain canceru00a0- the legendary naagmani providing immortality to anyone owning it. He mumbles 'get me the naagin muthaf***ers!' and 'been music play karo' in the most grating hinglish accent credited to a phirang. We sympathise not with his illness but the thankless premise he's put in. After capturing the Naagin's (Mallika) loverboy he plots to bring 'the bitch' to him. Easy as it may sound, the icchadhari Naagin wriggles in her latex body suit and changes into a curvy woman. Wonder where she lost all that weight and gained those curves from being a giant man-eating snake to becoming a slender woman draped in nothing but a scarf. With revenge on her mind she starts (selectively) hunting down wife beaters, rapists, criminals and even providing fertility to a woman (Divya Dutta) trying to conceive a child by her husband (Irrfan). The latter is a cop who's solving the mystery of serial murders where victims die of severe poisoning. With a climax that has a half naked Naagin falling out of a wired hammock into Irrfan's arms, there isn't much to say but experience in thisssss story.

What's hot: Visually Hisss has its moments. The opening transformation scene, her slithering down a light pole and dangling upside down, swallowing a whole human and digesting the food overnight, highlight the efforts of the make up and special effect team. Her body suit is minutely detailed to show the scales and skin shedding. Fortunately there are no songs; barring the holi number that shows Naagin's entry in the city. To maintain authenticity of plot, Mallika has no dialogues. Since she's a snake, she only hisses and yelps.u00a0

What's not: Shape transforming snakes have been a favourite with our film makers (Nagin, Nagina, Nigahein, Tum Mere Ho). Inspired by folklore and serpent worship in our culture the stories blur the line between fact and fiction. But the concept hasn't gone down well with Lynch who may have watched all the Naagin movies and visited jungles, yet struggled to tell an interesting tale that gets your attention. There are several ridiculous ideas, sub plots and theories floating in the film. The phirang's brain cancer is established by showing him clutch his head and scream like he's suffering a bad migraine! Irrfan's mother-in-law is dressed in an oversized bra over the blouse. Why ? Because she's mentally challenged. Surprisingly despite being her condition, she's the one who cracks the plotu00a0 providing Irrfan with clues to solve his case. Dialogues are downright hilariousu00a0-- "Come on bitch apne lover ko dhoond lo", "naagin ayegi to bada mazaaa ayega!".u00a0 Climax takes the cake with Mallika trying to copulate with her loveru00a0-- a really bad rubber snake that moves between her thighs as she moans and writhes in ecstasy. A sweaty Irrfan watches the act breaking into a devilish grin (so that's how they make babies he wonders!).u00a0
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What to do: Strictly for Mallika fans who want a dose of her trademark titillation wrapped under the pretense of a thrilling story of a snake-woman.