Dealing with an oft-repeated theme of the Hindu-Muslim situation in India without ruffling many feathers is a challenge in itself. Dhokha not only takes this challenge up, but also dresses it in a different background, and accessorizes it with a convincing back-story. And yet, it sticks to its mission of getting a message across.

The script flows reasonably well. The ‘ups and downs’ that build towards the climax manage to retain the curiosity that is aroused in the first five minutes. Actually, that should be ‘downs and downs’ - yeah the theme at hand is dark and so is the story. The climax does feel a little rushed but again, given the sensitivity of the topic it is difficult to imagine any other way to end the movie.

Unfortunately, a few plot points seem contrived. Also the movie gets border-line preachy every once in a while. And sermons equal boredom. Nevertheless there are a few thought-provoking philosophical one-liners that make the dialogues a little above average.

It was exciting to watch the two main characters unfold and they were deftly kept consistent - which is a rarity in itself now-a-days. Muzzamil Ibrahim grasped the nuances of the character pretty well. His good looks and the perfect physique is going to set many a heart thumping. I am sure not many are going to mind the multiple number of showers he takes. Tulip Joshi does not have too many lines but performs wonderfully in the one scene of substance that she is given.

That said, the side characters are absolutely underdeveloped and seemed really functional. In fact, Nandini played by Aushima Sawhney does not even have a fathomable function. What was Nandini doing in the story except showing off Aushima Sawhney’s shoulders!?

While walking out of the theater, I was wondering what is it that makes a gloomy subject a pleasant watch. It’s not as if the performances were breathtakingly mesmerizing, or the screenplay was so taut that you didn’t notice the sadness of it all. I think along with other positives mentioned above, it is the mature camerawork and lighting that added to the experience. It was also refreshing to hear some good lyrics set to decent tunes.

Unfortunately, this is one of those movies that will go unnoticed by more than many. I hope it is not because people have lost their belief in cinema as a form of entertainment because of a catastrophe called Aag that hit our industry this week.