Film: “1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath”; Director: Arshad Siddiqui; Cast: Ssharad Malhotra, Hritu Dudani, Melanie Nazareth, Deepraj Rana, Vishawajit Pradhan, Pankaj Berry, Gargi Patel, Padam Singh, Anubhav Dheer, Aprajita Mahajan, Krishna Raaz; Rating: *1/2

Arshad Siddiqui’s ‘1:13:7 Ek Tera Saath’, is a shoddily executed film that includes romance, horror and paranormal activities.

Set in Rajasthan, the film follows Kunwar Aditya Pratap Singh, the Prince of Jodhpur who manipulates his way to prevent his treasured home, the Darbar Palace, from being converted into a luxury hotel. The story takes a twist when a spirit takes advantage of Kunwar Aditya Pratap’s deeds.

While the premise of the film is interesting, the plot trots on a convoluted, yet run-of-the-mill path. The writing, which includes the dialogues, is mediocre and lacklustre. The characters, with no depth to their arcs and pouting frivolous lines, are lazily etched making them paper thin and shallow. Their demeanour makes the entire narrative unconvincing and the fault lies not in the cast, but the director’s inept handling of the project.

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Ssharad Malhotra who is oft seen on Indian television, is a fine actor, but as Kunwar Aditya Pratap Singh, he is loud and unconvincing. Similarly, Melanie Nazareth essaying Aditya’s girlfriend – Sonali and Hritu Dudani in a double role portraying Aditya’s wife Kasturi and her look alike Nikita Chaudhauri, are weak and unimpressive.

Deepraj Rana in a mystic role of an Investigating Police office, is bland and wasted. Vishwajeet Pradhan as the conniving uncle of the Prince, is staid and perfunctory. The rest of the supporting cast with nothing much to offer, lend an equally mediocre performance.

On the directorial front, the scenes are amateurishly handled and some scenes seem to be inspired from other well-known films. One such scene, where Aditya sees the look-alike of his dead wife, Kasturi at the traffic signal, seems to be directly lifted from Hrithik Roshan’s debut film, Kaho Na Pyaar Hai.

The intricately complex plot gets tedious to even let the audience bother about the real motive, which is so weakly presented. The first half of the film is tolerable and the second-half gradually improves, but by then it is too late. The edits too are not sharp and crisp.

The sound design of the film is loud and rustic with ear-deafening beats that sound harsh. The only song that is tolerable is with the lyrics, “Tera mera rishta, pakeezah, pakeezaha”

Overall, with moderate production values, the film would have been a treat to watch if only it was astutely handled.

IANS