Ek Hasina Thi

In late 90s and early 2000s Urmila Matondkar was unstoppable. She had proved her talent of acting, dancing, and versatility with various projects. With Rangeela, Bhoot, Jungle, and Kaun she had become a household name. Another of her film under Ram Gopal Verma's banner which was underappreciated was "Ek Hasina Thi" (EHT). I believe this film is not talked about enough.

When the film released, though the story and presentation were criticized, Urmila's performance was highly praised. The audience did not show love to this film in the theater. I was unable to watch the movie in theatres. When it released on home media, I watched it and could not believe how this masterpiece was ignored and criticized.

EHT follows the story of a young woman who was from a simple middle class family. She stayed in Mumbai away from her family for work. She was a simple girl who would stay away from all troubles. She meets a charming young man who later traps her in a drug smuggling case. Despite of her innocence she got pronounced guilty because of her lover's connections. In jail she learnt everything about the man who conned her and swears to seek revenge. After escaping from jail she sets the trap and finally gets the payback.

There is a lot going on in the film and most heavy lifting is done by Urmila Matondkar. The narrative is tightly tied to the presentation. EHT is a fast paced film and it does not let the viewer take a second away from the screen. For me the main highlight was the central character's transformation. The protagonist is a shy, simple, and innocent woman who is doing everything right. When she goes to jail, she gets in trouble because of her docile personality. She learns from each blow and slowly stands up for herself. Then she decides to seek revenge (or justice for herself) and trains herself. Her love for the man slowly transcends into despice. The woman we see at the beginning of the film is nowhere close to what she becomes towards the end. Despite that we find ourselves rooting for her, giving her the role of an antihero. The climax of the film blew me away.

Indian movies had always shown the actresses in the movies as beautiful, fragile, innocent, sweet, and in a good light. They were the angels who could do nothing wrong. However films like 'Khoon bhari maang', 'Anjam', and 'Ek Hasina Thi' showed the main actresses to be as grey characters. It was not acceptable at that time for female leads to be shown vengeful, angry, and ones who carry weapons and not being afraid to use them. I believe it was something that the audience could not accept. It could the reason why all these films could not gain the approval from their audience. They wanted female leads to a "damsel in distress" and not as a revenge seeking vixen.

Overall, in my opinion EHT deserves more love and recognition. I believe in the entertainment world where the viewer seek content driven films, it still has an opportunity to shine on OTT platforms.