Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
This is the idea central to the plot of Ek Hasina Thi. After all, it is a story devoted to the idea of unfair circumstances, justice, and revenge. However, while the attempt is appreciated, unfortunately, Ek Hasina Thi only marginally captures the idea of a woman’s anger.
Let’s talk about where the plot falls short.
Ek Hasina Thi — Review at a Glance
- Story — 3/5
- Acting — 3/5
- Direction — 3/5
Pros: Not a usual crime drama
Cons: The lead female character feels one-sided
Must-Watch: No
One-Time Watch: Yes
When to Watch Ek Hasina Thi: When you want something gritty but not cerebral
Ek Hasina Thi Review — A Deep Dive
At its core, Ek Hasina Thi contains familiar elements — a scorned lover, a dishonest man, and revenge, and it certainly tries to present something new and different.
But it fails.
To explain why that is the case, we’ll take a small detour.
In the realm of writing, there exists the concept of “show, don’t tell.” Though it is pretty self-explanatory, the idea is that one’s writing shouldn’t simply be summations or descriptions of what is going on. Instead, the writer needs to get into the nitty-gritty and explain the nuances of the moment.
It is one thing to show the audience that the lead character has been wronged.
It’s another to show how that rage actually builds up inside of her.
For example, I could say Karan wronged Sarika.
But I could also say, “Sarika thought Karan would be her night in shining armour… But as she stands in court, being handed a sentence for a crime she didn’t commit, Sarika feels the walls closing in on her. Unable to successfully plead her innocence, panic grips her, tears flow like wine, and shallow, ragged gasps make her aware about her reality.”
This attention to detail is exactly what Ek Hasina Thi lacks.
The audience knows that Sarika is the conventional “good girl” who has probably never even hurt a fly in her life. We’re even told as much in all the scenes where she slowly but steadily falls in love with Karan.
But we’re never really shown the insanity that takes place inside Sarika — and that is a missed opportunity.
In other words, while Ek Hasina Thi shows us logically how Sarika’s specific circumstances affect her psyche, we’re hardly given a glimpse into the storm of emotions brewing inside her (barring in one or two scenes).
We’re *expected* to understand why Sarika wants her revenge. Who wouldn’t want to hurt someone for destroying their life?
But… that’s mildly infuriating in its own way. Sarika, at least on paper, would have been the perfect vessel to explore the turbulent emotions that dictate feminine rage, but it feels as though the audience got swindled out of that.
For me, Ek Hasina Thi could have used more scenes where Sarika dives deep into everything she experiences. What was exactly going on in her mind?
We know she is broken, but how much sleep did she lose at night?
How did the darkness consume her?
What were the things she couldn’t stop thinking about as she plotted her revenge against the man she once loved with all her might?
What realisations did she have about her own personality — as well as about Karan — for her to change so drastically in prison?
Was she nervous she wouldn’t be able to carry out her devious plan?
How much did she question her fate and existence through it all?
Evidently, there was a lot more to unpack about Sarika’s emotions than Ek Hasina Thi got into. Still, when it comes to acting, both Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar did a decent job. It wasn’t groundbreaking, but their performances were also not that bad.
Ek Hasina Thi Plot Overview
Sarika falls in love with Karan but doesn’t know about his criminal career. One day, she unwittingly gets trapped when Karan’s accomplice leaves a suitcase at her house but then turns up dead.
Although Karan tells Sarika he is working to save her from the cops and jail, the reality is far from it.
Lo and behold, Sarika gets handed a life sentence for something she didn’t do, and she vows to take revenge against Karan while in prison.
