A young boy, Mohan (Ashish Bisht), from a small town in Uttrakhand, Dhanaulti, comes to Delhi with big aspirations to enter the modeling industry in the city. Sonal realizes Mohan’s potential, but not on the ramp. Sonal uses him for sexual pleasure in return of giving his dreams a chance. She christens him Afzar. Afzar’s equation with other characters like a restaurateur, Neil (Areesz Ganddi).He is further introduced to Raina (Arpita Chatterjee), who he later falls in love with. The characters are well sketched. The film also deals with homosexual relationships very beautifully and takes the taboo away for atleast as long as you’re in the hall. Onir’s movies are a well sculpted idol of what he thinks of a particular subject, but this one lacks the magic. Ashish Bisht has ample screne time but fails to establish himself as anything more than eye candy for the film. Raveena is not in her best shape. Maybe download it later and watch it when you have absolutely nothing better to do. 

This is a complicated story with numerous sub-plots that seem rather overwhelming. Onir’s expertise at handling the darkest subjects with sensitivity and the actors’ impressive performances ensure you have a sinfully extravagant film at hand. With the film, he explores the “morally wrong” shades of human relationship without letting the audience hold any judgments - he shows us the emotional turmoils of people in these relationships. Though the reason behind such endeavours is revealed much later in the film, what we get to witness, are the everyday struggles. Raveena Tandon has given one of her most sensual, brilliant performances in Shab. She manages to bring out every single element of a rich and lonely trophy wife who does not shy away from paying up for the love she desires. Ashish has an air of innocence about his presence that adds to the credibility of his character and makes his efforts shine through. Shab is a dark, haunting film about human emotions, relationships, love and betrayal that thrive in a rather opportunistic and materialistic world of Delhi’s elite society.

Shab, a restrained drama of complex emotional ebbs and tides, is about individuals seeking to flee their unhappy and non-happening lives and looking for personal gratification in ways that only serve to aggravate their woes. A finely honed script, an intriguing gallery of characters, intelligently elliptical editing and consistently good acting all around more than make up for the film's somewhat glacial veneer and occasional lack of clarity. Sachin K Krishn's camerawork revels in peering bleary-eyed into the benighted, seemingly shallow spaces that the characters occupy - and finds just enough depth in them to make the exercise worthwhile. Shab is a courageous film and not only on account of its theme. It dares to go against the grain of what is passes for 'well-made' cinema in the Bollywood playbook. It is stylish, layered, evocative and not averse to embracing subtle obliqueness. Yes, some in the audience might (with some justification) find the film too slow and baffling for their liking. But Onir can regard that reaction as a feather in his cap. It might not be the brightest of all the feathers that he has earned thus far, but it is sparkling enough not to be dismissed as a faux one. Shab is a courageous film and not only on account of its theme. It dares to go against the grain of what is passes for 'well-made' cinema in the Bollywood playbook. It is stylish, layered, evocative and not averse to embracing subtle obliqueness. Yes, some in the audience might (with some justification) find the film too slow and baffling for their liking. But Onir can regard that reaction as a feather in his cap. It might not be the brightest of all the feathers that he has earned thus far, but it is sparkling enough not to be dismissed as a faux one.

‘Shab’ is a story about broken people on the lookout for a real connection that can lead to happiness. But they look for it in the wrong places. These individuals pass through each other’s lives through the film, forging and severing connections, yet all their meanderings lead them seemingly nowhere. That, unfortunately, is what happens in the film too. While it is a mature film about human relationships, it is all over the place. There are so many emotional interactions between characters, you almost need a flowchart to keep track. Besides the main characters, even the smaller characters interact with each other and drive the story forward. While this seems like it adds layers to the film, it only works to confuse the viewer. Raveena Tandon, in her third film this year, doesn’t really stand out. There are moments when her performance is quite credible, but there are others’ when you think you’re looking at a rich socialite from Madhur Bhandarkar’s ‘Page 3’. While Ashish Bisht does look like your typical struggling model, his performance is relegated to that. Arpita Pal, Areesz Ganddi and Simon Frenay do have some chemistry between them, but as individual actors, they don’t make an impact. Onir, with cinematographer Ashish Bisht, has shot Delhi beautifully. It’s interesting how the filmmaker seasons in the city to show what the characters are going through. We need filmmakers like him to have conversations about subjects like same-sex relationships, single mothers, but he needs to have his objective clear.