Aa Dekhen Zara
- Director
- Jehangir Surti
- Studio
- Next Gen Films
- Release Date
- 26 May 2009
- Running Time
- 117 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹17.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹10.38 Cr
Review
Atul Kulkarni's "Aa Dekhen Zara" attempts to blend magical realism with a heist-thriller premise, and while the central conceit—a camera that photographs the future—possesses genuine imaginative appeal, the execution falters under the weight of uneven storytelling and tonal inconsistency. Emraan Hashmi carries the film with his usual charm as Ray, the struggling photographer-turned-fugitive, and there are moments where his desperation feels earned rather than performed. However, the narrative sprawls without clear direction, trying to be simultaneously a romance, a chase thriller, and a cautionary tale about greed, succeeding fully at none of these. The introduction of Simi (a character who deserves far more screen time and development) feels perfunctory, and Captain's motivations remain frustratingly opaque.
Director Atul Kulkarni demonstrates technical competence in staging action sequences, and the Bangkok section does provide some visual novelty to what is otherwise a fairly predictable plot trajectory. The problem isn't ambition—the film swings for the fences with its premise—but rather the inconsistent pacing that allows quieter character moments to drag while rushing through crucial emotional beats. The film asks interesting questions about corruption, desire, and the seductive nature of foreknowledge, yet never lingers long enough to explore them meaningfully. What we're left with is a middling thriller that entertains in patches but disappoints more often than it de
Storyline
So there's this guy Ray who's basically broke and his photography career is going nowhere. Then his grandfather leaves him this incredible camera, and here's where things get wild—the pictures this camera takes actually show the future! Ray figures out pretty quickly that he can use this to predict lottery numbers, stock markets, and basically anything else that'll make him rich. His whole life transforms from struggling to living like a king, and along the way he meets this amazing woman named Simi who's a DJ with tons of personality. She becomes the person he never knew he needed.
But of course, things get complicated because other people find out about this magical camera and suddenly everyone wants it. This guy named Captain starts chasing Ray because he wants to steal it for himself, and the government authorities are also on his tail since they know Ray's grandfather was working on creating a camera with these kinds of powers. The whole thing turns into this intense game of cat and mouse where Ray's constantly running and trying to protect what he has.
The drama and action keep escalating and eventually Ray ends up having to flee to Bangkok to escape everyone who's after him and his camera. That's where everything comes to a head and the story reaches its climax in this exciting location far from home.
