Ek Second...Jo Zindagi Badal De... Movie Review: Ek Second? Jo Zindagi Badal De?: No Seconding It!

This film by Partho Ghosh is quite a painful watch. Ek Second?Jo Zindagi Badal De is a movie which does not work for many reasons. But what is really painful and embarrassing is seeing an actress like Manisha Koirala in a movie like this.

It's been quite a fall for the once delightful actress, who charmed many with her fragile performances in films like 'Dil Se', 'Bombay', 'Khamoshi' and '1942: A Love Story'. She was once the toast of Bollywood and directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Mani Ratnam and Vidhu Vonod Chopra vied to work with her. It would have been better, if the actress had made a graceful exit from cinema, as the kind of films and roles that she has been offered these days are nothing short of pathetic.

Actually, 'Ek Second?' is a film which has quite a few has beens. Giving Manisha company in the movie is her one time co star Jackie Shroff, who has fallen on bad days himself and is a shadow of himself these days. The final has been is Partho Ghosh the director, who has made fairly decent films in the past like the Madhuri Dixit Jackie starrer '100 Days', the Nana Patekar Manisha Jackie starrer 'Agnisakhsi', among others.

The film is, more or less, a rip off of the 1998 Hollywood flick 'Sliding Doors' and needless to say, is a poor attempt. The film's premise, however is quite interesting as it deals with two parallel tracks. But Ghosh is unable to come up with a gripping enough screenplay and therefore squanders the advantage away.

The film's story centres around Rashi, whose life takes an unimaginable turns when she misses her train by just a second. The story then goes on two parallel tracks, with one dealing with how, because of the missed train, she catches her novelist boyfriend (Moammer Rana) in bed with another woman (Nikita Anand), while the second track deals with her catching the train in time and meeting another man during the journey. The film details the role destiny plays in an individual's life.

Despite the premise being quite interesting, the treatment is quite below par. Also the performances are hardly worth being written about. Manisha, around whom the film revolves, is not able to come up with a rivetting performance. Not that she should be blamed entirely for it as the screenplay and dialogues are below average.

Jackie sails through the movie, looking and acting like a shadow of himself. Sunil Singh looks uncomfortable and out of place. Pakistani actor, Rana, renders a very clich?d performance. As for Nikita and Roza Catalano, the two girls do justice to their roles, which is hardly saying much for them.

The film's production values are below par, especially post interval, and the music is just about adequate. The credit for the film's story goes to Amit Khan, while the movie has been produced by Rachna Sunil Singh and Agastya Singh.

'Ek Second?Jo Zindagi Badal De?' could have been a very interesting movie but falters right from the beginning. It lacks punch. One can safely give it a miss.