7 Khoon Maaf (2011)

4 stars because it was different. Difference does not mean good, especially in this case.

I am not too sure what the director and editor were trying to do. At the end, I really regretted wasting my time on this. I actually just looked at the ratings in the IMDb before I went to see this. The rating seems to be artificial, much like all 'Mithun Da' movies on IMDb. I just hope that people are not being paid to write the 'supremely favorable' reviews.

The movie is really badly made. None of the characters was developed to understand why they were doing what they were doing. Priyanka's acting is probably the second worst part of the movie after the disconnected plot. Climax is awful. I have not read the book it is supposed to be based on but after watching the movie, I have no hopes I would ever want to read it.

I think anybody who wants to make a good movie needs to know what he wants the output to be which sadly is not the case with this one.

Avoid. Thumbs down.

Fmovies: The movie Zooms from 1984 era to current day, from sepia to Eastman color to the current times, the viewers are spell bounded and with pin drop silence, waiting for the fate of Susanna's husband.

Like Sin City and other movies in related dark noir genre, 7KM will definitely stand out from all other contemporary Bollywood offerings. Kudos to Vishal Bharadwaj for marvelous cinematography and the equally apt music score which have kept the flow intact. Roles are also executed in perfection with great acting by all the Husbands,. From Neil Nitin Mukesh as general with a Dark side, John with a 80's hippie cum Rock star avatar, Irrfan in his usual best with eyes speaking more than his words, Aleksandr (Russian TV actor) with accented Hindi statements ( "MAIN TUMSE AMAR PREM KARTA HOON" usage in three different situations and moods shows the writer's situational understanding ), Anu Kapoor with all his 32 teeth intact and generously displayed, Naseer as Bangali Doctor (very less screen space) have all shown that the roles were thoroughly crafted for them. Usha Utthup and Vivaan Shah (Naseer's Son) were surprise packages and the later acted well throughout the movie (Though his makeup for the age of 40 plus was not very impressive). Now the Actor deserving a Standing ovation, after 12 different roles ( In Wats your Raashi), Priyanka has proved that she indeed is one of the most matured actors present in current bollywood era. Her character is shown with multifaceted shades, one moment you feel pit for her and the next you will hate her for what she just did. From bubbly 20 plus, enchantress at 30s, composite at 40, desperate at 50 and finally in salvation, she have swayed across the roles as a seasoned actress. Watch 7KM if you need to see and enjoy movies with a substance and the rating "A" given in the movie really means it.

Its a great movie for mature audience!!!Vishal bharadwaj has done so much study into all the different stories,that every murder seems acceptable!!!Most of the audience, did'nt even get who the 7th khoon was!!And thats the best part,the answer is quiet easy,but yet it compels u to think who was it,at the end?She newer got love from her first 6 husbands,but the 7th was the last option she could turn to!!!Wait till the end to find the answer yourself!!Great direction and awesome cinematography!!!Something Different in Bollywood!!Keep it up Vishal Bharadwaj,looking forward for more such intense movies!!!Go for it!!!

7 Khoon Maaf fmovies. Scotland Yard's chief in the 1950s, G. H. Hatherill is said to have flippantly remarked, "There are only about 20 murders a year in London and many not at all serious - some are just husbands killing their wives." One wonders if this was the prevailing 1950s sentiment: wives were expendable, deserving of such dispatch, and replaceable. In 2011 we have an admirable gender reversal in the juicy Vishal Bhardwaj black comedy "7 Khoon Maaf", wherein Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (embodied enthusiastically by Priyanka Chopra at her sultriest) displays a penchant for marrying and murdering her husbands as they prove unworthy of her.

Based on "Susanna's Seven Husbands", a short story by prolific Indo-Anglian writer Ruskin Bond, "7 Khoon Maaf" (literally "Seven Murders Forgiven") is cheerfully empathetic of Susanna's quandary: she enters into matrimony with every intention of loving, honoring, and cherishing her husbands until Death does them part, but what's a gal to do when the husband reveals himself to be an irredeemable lying, cheating, thieving, duplicitous cad? Why, off him, of course, is the pragmatic solution, arrived at after a decent amount of soul-searching.

I reveled in this sophisticated wickedly funny take on resolving marital crises, and I'm deeply grateful to Vishal Bhardwaj for such a delicious film experience. Can you believe it? Three excellent Hindi films in two months: "No One Killed Jessica", "Dhobi Ghat", and now, "7 Khoon Maaf" – this is rapidly making up for the Hindi film industry's gag-inducing output of 2010.

Susanna is orphaned, prodigiously wealthy, blessed with tawny sex appeal and a wardrobe that tastefully showcases her lovely bosom and long legs. Her daddy left her a vast estate in picturesque post-colonial Coorg, a stable full of prize-winning race horses, and, most importantly, three loyal to the death retainers. These three—a Muslim butler, a large and loving housekeeper Maggie Auntie, and a mute pint-sized jockey Goonga—run her household and estate with dazzling efficiency. But their special genius lies in vermin extermination as evidenced whenever Susanna's husband du jour proves to be inconvenient or in any way unsuitable.

Around the time Susanna is being wooed by Husband No.1, a dashing army captain, Goonga the mute jockey adopts an orphan boy, who earns his keep doing odd jobs. Susanna, smitten by the lad's smarts, daring, and general adorability, decides he should attend school. More than any of her husbands, he turns out to be the love of her life, and it is he who narrates the story of Susanna's many marital mishaps, and final undoing. The boy, Arun, goes from wide-eyed naïf who idolizes Susanna (quite literally – he prays daily to her photograph concealed behind one of that other fierce goddess of the Hindu pantheon, Durga) to a bespectacled forty-five year-old husband, father, and practitioner of forensic medicine who gives evidence that Susanna, after being widowed so very many times, is herself finally dead. Or is she?

Arun is a plum role, spanning a large dramatic arc, for the character goes from harboring an ardent schoolboy crush and aspiring to marry Susanna to appreciating the generosity of his benefactress, but not being blind to her rather deadly faults. Susanna's interest in him traverses from the maternal, initially, to playfully flirtatious to—over the years—seriously weighing his potential as a love/lust objec

I went to watch 7 Khoon Maaf today. I had been waiting for this movie for quite some time. Based on the short-story by Ruskin Bond's short story "Susanna's Seven Husbands", starring Priyanka Chopra (as Susanna) was enough to get me excited. Susanna, who leaves behind a trail of dead husbands.

Movie was good, not great. But since it is not a clichéd overdone love stories it was fun to watch something different for a change. Before I go and tell you about what I didn't like about the movie, Priyanka Chopa has indeed done an amazing job as Susanna and that it premiered in 61st Berlin International Film Festival, which I think is a big deal.

First half hour of the movie, I was wondering if it was a bad joke. The nightmare of sitting through another "Whats your Rashee" was daunting. But as the movie progresses, it did turn into something amazing. Though I was never too engrossed in the movie or brooded for Susanna or her husbands, it was a good watch. Oh! And now I know what a black comedy is.

For all the moviegoers, I would say go watch it, it is watchable. For those who want something more, it is not worth it.

First things first. 7 Khoon Maaf is an intensely dark film which unfolds in shadows and silhouettes. So, if you aren't mistakenly looking for entertainment here, you are going to love this half-lit canvas of crime and punishment which lays bare the innermost recesses of a tortured soul. Vishal never once slips and lets go of his hold on this intense study of grief and grime. From the very first shot, which explodes with a grimacing Priyanka pulling the trigger on God-knows-who, the director inexorably draws you into this welter of passion and crime. All the death play takes place in semi-darkness: an almost outward pouring of an evil soul.

And this brings us to the second stirring note of 7 Khoon Maaf. The film is based on a seven-page story by Ruskin Bond. Vishal not only fleshes out the characters and adds immense details to the plot and the narration, he also balances the moral fulcrum at an interesting point. Priyanka may be a murderer, but is she evil? Never. Like all good and realistic crime and passion plays, this one too showcases the protagonist as a woman with a purpose. She may have used poisonous snakes and mushrooms and loaded guns to do away with her husbands, but you don't really blame her. Because somewhere through her dark and devious journey, Susanna carries the pain of every woman wronged: either by a two-timing husband, a wife-beating husband, a junkie husband, a murderous husband, a dictatorial husband, a sadistic husband, a husband who treats his wife as a sex object. The poor soul has no option but to end her anguish, any which way.

In terms of performances, 7 Khoon Maaf would undoubtedly end up as a milestone in Priyanka Chopra's career graph. The actor displays exquisite command over a complex character that is definitely a first in Indian cinema. She renders a subtle and restrained portrayal of a lonely and wronged woman who wanted love and only love from life. Amongst her husbands, it is Neil and Irrfan who excel as the brutes, even though it is hard to find fault with any of the characters in a Vishal Bhardwaj film. The music score (Gulzar and Vishal) is riveting too and boasts of the mesmerizing Darrrling number, amongst other tuneful songs. A word about the length: a bit of editing and tightening would make the experience more compelling.

Serious, sensitive and stirring, 7 Khoon Maaf is a whole new cinematic experience. Watch how Indian cinema is metamorphosing into something more substantial and glocal.