7 Khoon Maaf (2011)

Vishal Bhardwaj's Shakespeare variations, "Maqbool" ("Macbeth," 2004) and "Omkara" ("Othello," 2006), stay high marks of ongoing Hindi film. Genuine and truly engaging, they wedded Shakespeare to contemporary Indian reality as shrewdly as they married an increased authenticity to Bollywood ability to entertain. 

Mr. Bhardwaj's new film, "7 Khoon Maaf," a wandering dark widow story, has a lot of workmanship, as well. Yet, it skims around, ungrounded in anything like passionate reality. 

In light of "Susanna's Seven Husbands," a brief tale by the Indian essayist Ruskin Bond, "7 Khoon Maaf" follows Susanna Anna-Marie Johannes (Priyanka Chopra) from visitor star companion to visitor star mate. An exercise center swelled John Abraham plays Jimmy Stetson (not his genuine name), an extremely un-Indian demigod who acts in a David Lee Roth hairpiece. The superb Irrfan Khan appears at infuse some excellence and ruthlessness as a Kashmiri writer by-day, undershirt around evening time. What's more, obviously, the rundown goes on. 

Mr. Bhardwaj comprehends the underlying issue with the pride — at a certain point, a title card declares there are just four additional spouses to go — yet can't actually defeat it, however he does some interesting things. After one burial service he slices promptly to Susanna's next wedding in a similar church; later, he does the inverse. 

Indeed, even as Susanna's story droops the film has little pleasures, including "Dear," a concoction of a Bollywood number and a Russian society tune. (Mr. Bhardwaj created all the music, and it's incredible.) 

However, fireworks and enhancements to the side — Todd Tucker, who dealt with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," did the cosmetics that ages Susanna around 40 years — "7 Khoon Maaf" never appears to be in excess of a triviality. That is generally in light of the fact that Susanna makes little case on our feelings. She's more vanity than character, and Ms. Chopra, however beguiling as usual, can't make her cling. 

The film, as well, doesn't actually adhere. Brimming with places of worship, signs and crosses, it meanders directly into a Christian closure that is similar as the remainder of the film: shrewd, senseless and talented, yet not exceptionally fulfilling.