Komal Nahta’s Review of My Birthday Song
Kahwa Entertainment’s My Birthday Song (A) is a thriller.
Rajiv Kaul (Sanjay Suri) has a wife, Ritu (Zenia Starr), and two kids. He is celebrating his 40th birthday with friends. Although the party has been arranged by his wife, she herself is unable to attend as she and the kids are with her mother who is unwell. Anyway, Rajiv’s travel agent-friend, Vikram Acharya (Ayaz Khan), brings his friend, Sandy (Nora Fatehi), to the party. Sandy stays back in Rajiv’s house on a false pretext, even after all friends have left – and Rajiv is quite happy about it because both had felt attracted towards each other.
Before long, Rajiv and Sandy are in his bedroom, in bed. After foreplay, Sandy suddenly asks Rajiv to stop. Accidentally, her head hits a glass vase kept on the side table and she bleeds to death. Rajiv is devastated.
Unable to handle the situation, he drinks pegs after pegs and falls asleep. He wakes up next morning and is surprised to see everything perfectly alright. Sandy’s body is not there. What’s more, he is told that it’s his birthday today and that Ritu has planned a party for his friends. He realises that he had dreamt about his party. Strangely, all the things that had happened in his party in his dream, happen in reality. He asks Vikram whether he was planning to get a friend named Sandy to his party, to which Vikram answers in the affirmative. Scared for her life – because everything that he had seen in his dream was coming true – Rajiv visits Sandy in her hotel room to ask her not to attend his birthday party. But he is in for a shock when he ends up pushing Sandy in her room and she bangs the back of her head on a glass-top table. Soon, Sandy bleeds to death. Rajiv runs away from the hotel but when he returns after a while to take his cell phone which he had forgotten in Sandy’s room, he is flabbergasted to see the room spic and span. Why, he is even informed that no Sandy ever checked in into the hotel.
What happens thereafter? What is the truth about Sandy? How is it that Rajiv had dreamt exactly what was to happen on his birthday, the previous night? Was Sandy dead or alive? Who is Sandy?
Samir Soni has written a very engrossing story which is unusual, to say the least. It unfolds in such a way that it keeps the viewers hooked completely. The various turns and twists are so scary that they sometimes jolt the audiences out of their seats. His screenplay – with additional screenplay by Vrushali Telang – is brilliantly written. So wonderful is the screenplay that although the drama is confusing, it has been penned in as simplistic a manner as possible while retaining the thrill element. Of course, it is a class-appealing screenpaly alright but the classes would love the last two reels when a lot of reality is revealed. Samir Soni’s dialogues, with additional dialogues by Vrushali Telang, are quite realistic.
Sanjay Suri does a splendid job as Rajiv Kaul. Whether in scenes of being seduced (by Sandy) or in scenes of being scared or confused, he is wonderfully natural. Nora Fatehi is lovely in the role of Sandy. She looks bewitching and performs very well. Zenia Starr does a fine job as Ritu Kaul. Ayaz Khan leaves a mark as Vikram Acharya. Purab Kohli (as Ashish) and Pitobash (as the waiter/mechanic) make their presence amply felt in special appearances. Samir Sharma (as Ravi Kaul), Elena Kazan (as Amy), Suparna Krishna (as Achala), Aarti Khetarpal (as Annie), master Aryan Veir Suri (as young Rajiv), Kausher Ali Khan (as Vijay), Rahul Gaba (as the caterer), master Aarav Bedi (as Yash Kaul), master Rohan Awasthi (as Maanav Kaul), Sumit Satija (as the hotel receptionist), Gurinder Singh (as the police inspector), Poonam Kindo (as Madhu), Savitri Wahi (as Ritu’s ailing mother), baby Mayana Sherawat (as little Sandy), Devishi Sharma (as young Sandy) and the others provide good support.
Samir Soni’s direction is very nice. He has narrated the intriguing script in such a lucid style that it keeps the eyes of the audience glued to the screens. Music (by Raajeev V. Bhalla, Joi Barua & Pawan Rasaily, and Ajay Govind & Nitin K. Menon) is functional. Lyrics (Ajay Govind, Akshay K. Saxena and Joi Barua) are alright. Pawan Rasaily’s background music is lovely. Shubham Kasera’s cinematography is splendid. Aamar Shetty’s action and stunts are in synch with the mood of the film. Natasha Gauba’s art direction is appropriate. Sandeep Sethy’s editing is very sharp.
On the whole, My Birthday Song is a beautifully made thriller with very good performances. It deserves to do well but, unfortunately, lack of promotion and a window of just six days (before Padmaavat floods the cinemas on 25th January) will tell on its box-office performance.
