SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

Blistering performances.

Shabd is a 2005 film starring Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai and Zayed Khan. The film is about Shaukat (Sanjay), a writer who is going through a rough patch because his last book did not do well. The criticisms about his book has really gotten to him and he is struggling to write another book. Unable to find inspiration elsewhere, he looks towards his wife Antara (Aishwarya), a college teacher. When a young and handsome new teacher Yash (Zayed) joins the college and shows interest in Antara, Shaukat encourages her to befriend him to find more inspiration for his story. However, as his wife becomes closer to Yash, fiction and reality start to resemble one another.Shabd is a strange film. I've always liked irony in films. Shabd, though, is ironical in not a very entertaining or appeasing way. It's kind of bizarre. It's not just a story about a husband encouraging his wife to cross the line into infidelity for the sake of his book, it's also about a man who actually believes that he can control people's lives through his writing. Although some of the language was very nice and well written, Sanjay Dutt appears as a mad man throughout, talking to himself constantly, and allowing himself to forget his identity as a husband for the sake of writing another successful book. It's sort of like he chooses success over his marriage, his wife and their honor. And his wife strangely goes along with it till the very end.I actually enjoyed Aishwarya's performance in this film more than anyone else's. Sanjay's performance felt a little too forced to me. And Zayed unfortunately overacted. In some of the scenes where he lowered his voice to a tone he believes a romantic hero sounds like and his puppy sad eyes actually made me want to laugh. He tried too hard. Aishwarya on the other hand was very good. She performed very honestly and really got Antara's sincerity and naivety across well. I highly doubt that anyone else could have made that character work. She hit a great balance in this film with an avatar that's a combination of sensuous and innocent. Without her beauty and portrayal, I'm sure Shabd would have lost the very little credibility it has as a story.At the end of the film, I really wasn't sure what exactly it was I watched. I can't quite fit this film into any main film genre. It's definitely not a thriller drama as described. It's more of a surreal film — not in its imagery– but more as a concept. I think what the writer and director went wrong with Shabd is that they wanted those surreal elements in the film but they also wanted to make a film that would fit the typical Bollywood cinematic experience, probably to attract the masses. But they diluted what could have been a well made, shocking art film. If they had taken the story a little more to the edge and removed the commercial elements (and tweaked the ending), Shabd could have been more influential, more disturbing.This might sound contradictory to the beginning of my review. It's not that I like or approve of Shabd's plot. But the way that the film was made left little impact on me as a viewer. At the end of the film, I just brushed it off as silly and inconsequential. When I think about it though, the story is very unique and so much could have been done with it. But art and commercial don't really mix. In order to work, they need to be kept separate. Shabd should have been an all-out art film. Having said that, I do appreciate that they got some big names involved in this project and tried something out of the ordinary for Bollywood.

I really loved this film, it was unique and different compared to other films that i have watched in the past. Ash is one of my fave actresses in bollywood today, it was on the tele one day so i decided to watch it.Aishwarya's performance was brilliant in the film and she looked amazing the eye makeup and the nose ring made her look very different compared to what she had looked before and brought her beauty to it's highest level, she actually made me wear a nose ring too, she looked amazing.Sanjay Dutt is one of my fave actors, he was just brilliant in the movie and his performance really touches you and make you feel the character, he was just amazing.Zayed Khan i can honestly say was wrongly casted i didn't like his performance and he really need some acting lessons. Apart for that the music was just brilliant and you guys really should watch this film.

Shabd: My favorite movies are always Hindi; they have a sense of simple story lines and manage to make a special place in my heart. A few of my favorites is Shabd, which literally means "words", in Hindi. Egotistic, obsessive, paranoid, and self-centered, Shaukat is desperate to write something real. He resolves to borrow from life. he starts building up a character in his head named Tamanna. To breathe life into his Tamanna, he manipulates his beautiful wife and fashion teacher, Antara (encourage her friendship with a lively photography tutor, Yash (Zayed Khan). The manner in which Shaukat maneuvers Antara to 'let go' of her emotions towards Yash is too simple. One never really understands why Antara is okay with risking her marriage, or what is going on in her mind. You are torn between her being either a submissive wife with no qualms about being treated like a puppet, or an adventurous woman who doesn't mind a casual fling with a younger guy who adores her. Once the story -- Shaukat's, not the film's -- gets its tempo, the moody writer realizes the possibility of Antara actually falling in love with Yash. At first, he cries, and then decides to let reality. Too many questions are left unanswered. On paper, the idea of a frustrated husband seeking a story in his wife's uneventful life by prodding her to get closer to a younger colleague sounds more than fascinating. On screen, however, the transition of this concept is vague and confusing. Agreed, subtlety is an art. But leaving the viewer to his own devices for guessing mind-games till the very end is like creating a crossword without clues. Shaukat's internal conflicts are poorly established. For a literary author, the story he is intent on writing is somehow too cheesy. Ditto with Antara and Yash. They become friendly on the basis of some corny Sardar jokes. It's not funny at all. The interaction between Shaukat and Antara is interestingly done; they share a lot of sexual chemistry and undercurrents of tension. Shabd's strongest virtue is Sanjay Dutt. His Shaukat is complicated and controlling in nature. But Dutt lends expression to every complexity and fires up the screen with a superlative performance. He can be Godlike, arrogant, vulnerable, calculating. He rocks! The actor makes a great pair with Aishwarya Rai. She is a writer's muse after all. But enigma doesn't completely work for Antara. Her character comes out as someone incapable of thinking for herself and/or unconditionally/foolishly in love. Shaukat loves to challenge himself with words, but reality intervenes and he is challenged by his love. Antra will gamble anything for her love (husband) but doesn't realize that she is the game. Yash seemingly loved Antra, beyond that he knew nothing else, not about her life, nor about her husband.

Words and misdeeds!Shabd Dir- Leena Yadav Cast- Sanjay Dutt, Aishwarya Rai, Zayed Khan and Sadia Siddiqui. Written by- Sutapa Sikdar and Leena Yadav. Rating- *The only thing worse than a brainless mind-numbing movie, is a brainless mind-numbing movie that pretends to be an intellectual and aesthetic one. Debutante writer-director Leena Yadav(she's even edited this tedious fare) must've thought during the filming that she was making something novel and riveting. Sadly, thoughts and intentions don't always translate into shabds and deeds! So what we have is in fact an over-boiled egg that's not only unappetizing but also comes without any salt to taste!Shaukat Vasisht(Sanjay Dutt) is suffering from a writer's block after his follow-up to his Booker prize winning Mindscape has been ripped apart by the critics. Actually, 'Mr. I type my novel on an antique typewriter wearing an Armani' is so consumed with desperation that he's unable to notice the fire in his Looker prize winning wife Antra(Aishwarya). Tch! Tch! Anyways, our dude looks like a writer finds his inspiration in Tamanna, his creation of a woman that wants to break free and live her life. To make his story as real as possible, he encourages Antra to don the garb of Tamanna and allow the overtures of a besotted cad, Yash(Zayed Khan). He even convinces Antra to hide her marital status from Yash. The problem begins when Tamanna becomes Antra and the lines between fantasy and reality become thinner. Shaukat soon realizes that Antra and Yash are not his creations whom he can control as he wishes. You must be thinking that the premise sounds oh so abstract and imaginative. Don't let it fool you though! This is an imposter posing as a highbrow! The film is full with passages that appear to be poetic but are actually drab monologues packaged in the baritone voice of Sanju baba. The proceedings get so repetitive and soporific after a while that you feel tempted to doze off. But what stops you though are the beautifully written(Vishal Dadlani and Irshad Kamil) and composed(Vishal-Shekhar) songs that are scattered through the running time. Also, your heart goes out to Sanjay for performing his part with sincerity and input. For him and the composer duo- what a waste! Aishwarya keeps switching from disinterested to overly dramatic, and she does both acts unconvincingly. And somebody please tell Zayed that his Shahrukh act just doesn't come together. This dude needs to go back and learn the basics. And yes, what was the casting department(if there was any) thinking when they narrowed him for a college professor? Sadia Siddiqui is engaging as the housemaid and brings some life to the events. One can't deny that the intent of the maker was to make something different. But Leena should've probably developed the plot a bit more. The relationship between Shaukat and Antra is left undefined as are the characters themselves. For a story that revolves around three characters, the characters have to be delineated with unambiguous clarity. One cannot be commended just for being bold and different. Being bold is not always beautiful! - Abhishek BandekarRating- ** Poor ** Average *** Good **** Very Good ***** Excellent6th February, 2005