Film: 706
Cast: Divya Dutta, Atul Kulkarni, Mohan Agashe, Rayo Bhakirtha, Yashvit Sancheti, Anupam Shyam
Director: Shravan Kumar
Rating: * * ½
This is a rare mainstream paranormal thriller that gets it mood and moments right… only to squander it all with extremely lazy timing. A film that could have played for less than two hours gets stretched unnecessarily beyond endurance with lovely though inappropriate song and music breaks.
Dr. Suman Asthana (Divya Dutta), CEO of a multispeciality hospital in which her missing husband Dr Anil Asthana (Mohan Agashe) is the Director and Doctor-in-charge, has a shameful secret in her past but then investigating officer DCP Shekhawat(Atul Kulkarni) is not without his own share of rattling skeletons. Both are confronted by a patient, a young boy (Raayo S Bakhirta) in Asthana’s care, who inexplicably turns psychic, grappling with demons from their past.
There’s also a Panditji (Anupam Shyam) from Benaras thrown into the mix of interesting characters – as a soothsayer helping his believers to ward off the inevitable. 706 is in fact the room no. in Meghdoot hotel that links all the shady characters to their unsavoury past.
The narrative starts-up with an investigation into Dr Asthana’s disappearance, opening up further as the cop digs deeper into the Psychic’s rants. The set-up and exposition are faultless and the eventual unravelling would have led to intense engagement if the editing were not so lazy and helming not so indulgent.
Divya Dutta is simply fantastic as the Doctor grappling with her own conscience, Atul Kulkarni shows off his ripped physique and acting chops to good effect while the rest of the cast essay their supportive roles with aplomb.