Hacked Movie Review: Popular television star and former Bigg Boss contestant Hina Khan makes her big-screen debut with Vikram Bhatt's Hacked. As the name suggests, Hacked is a dark thriller about how our lives are at the mercy of online surveillance, where a stranger could look deep into your secrets, if he or she so wishes. In the movie, Hina is Sameera, a chief editor for a fashion magazine, who is also the object of obsession for her 19-year-old neighbour Vivek (Rohan Shah). Hina Khan's Style File for Hacked Promotions was a Blend of Everything that's Sweet and Stylish (View Pics).
Despite his young age, Vivek is a brilliant hacker who can get into any system if he so wishes. Sameera is no angel either, carrying an affair with a married actor Omkar (Sid Makkar), urging him to leave his wife. During a weak, drunken moment, Sameera kisses Vivek and sleeps with him, only to regret it the next morning. Not Vivek, though, who begins to display sociopathic tendencies after his feelings are insulted by Sameera.
He ruins both her professional and personal lives by secretly filming her, and hacking into her laptop and other electronics. When the going gets too much for Sameera, she decides to get back at her hacker. But how can you defeat someone who knows your every step before you even think about it?
Hacked has a premise that is as old-as-hills, of a stalker harassing a young woman by every means possible. Vikram Bhatt himself has attempted this kind of plot with Fareb, Inteha and Aetbaar in the past. Hacked, well, embraces the digital world into its hackneyed premise and retells the same premise with more technical jargon and lines, grids and numbers. The idea is scary, no doubt, of how easy it is in this digital playground for a stranger to hack into our lives and know our deepest darkest secrets, while planting some of his own there.
The intrigue in the premise is, however, let down by an execution that deserves more polish, and a screenplay that often becomes ludicrous and illogical. Like, how does a brat manage to afford to set up a surveillance system in an old shed that would leave even RAW embarrassed? When does a teenager learn to climb a high-storeyed building with the same finesse as Spider-Man? Why does Sameera go for a secret rendezvous with her lover, when she already knows she is being stalked? Why did she wait for so long to neutralise the electronic bugs in her room, when she should have done it at the first given opportunity? Also, Sameera's plan to take down Vivek in his own den in the climax lacks the smarts and reeks of lazy writing. Bigg Boss 13: Hina Khan Feels People Should Stop Watching The Show So That The Makers Are Forced To Change The Format.
Towards the end, the antagonist smugly declares it's the age of exhibitionism, and truly, the movie has plenty of that on display, inviting you to be a voyeur along with Vivek. The camera never forgets to display the curves of the lead at any opportune moment, be it in songs or otherwise.
There is a scene, where Sameera's boss tells her that audience these days craves for more sleazy content, so the magazine should have more on that, while Sam argues that they should not compromise on the quality. Wondering if, with that scene, Vikram Bhatt was reflecting on the state of his own career, post-Ghulam.
Watch the Trailer of Hacked:
I am not saying that Hacked doesn't have its moments of ridiculous fun. Like the scene where Vivek outsmarts a professional hacker that Sameera hires in his own game.
And there are times when the movie gets tangled in its own absurdity raising unintentional hilarity. Like, the scene where Sameera, after getting disturbed by Vivek's constant scrutiny, runs out of her flat, screaming 'Nowhere to hide'! What should have been a really intense scene that delves into the disturbed psyche of the victim, turns out be an awfully acted sequence leaving you in splits. The twist involving the maid is so absurd that you wonder if the writers were making things up as they went along.
Also, what's with the random song placement in the film? Ideally Hacked should have been a song-less thriller, but here, even the villain gets his romantic song right when he is bugging the girl's house.
The Performances
Hina Khan looks quite pretty and oozes boldness and confidence. Her performance comes across as a mixed bag of affairs, though. She is okay in normal scenes, kinda convincing when she has to act freaked out or when her character is in command. But she is highly unconvincing in the more emotional scenes.
Rohan Shah is suitably creepy as the maniacal hacker. At times, he tends to go overboard, but his manic performance does make things more engaging to watch. In comparison, Mohit Malhotra as Sameera's silent admirer and supporter puts in an act that is best described as flogging a dead horse - absolutely insipid performance. Sid Makkar is very one-note as the philandering superstar.
Yay!
- Works For Hina Khan Fans
- An Intriguing Premise
Nay!
- Hackneyed Plot, Treatment and Performances
- Too Long
Final Thoughts
Not without its moments, Hacked mostly comes across a movie that is more suited for Vikram Bhatt's online platform, VB on the Web App. Watch the film only if you are craving to see Hina Khan's big-screen debut.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2020 02:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).