Sanjay Dutt is an underworld sharpshooter out to silence a murder witness,Manisha Koirala, into submission. The crime has been committed by ParmeetSethi, the son of Suresh Oberoi, who is about to fight a state election. Infact, the aspiring politician vows not to file his papers until his son hasbeen cleared of all charges. That must have been the longest nominationperiod recorded in history. Or the quickest trial ever. Sunjay Dutt hasalways been a favourite of the brawn-lovers' brigade, and is fast pulling inthe thinking audience too, thanks to some exceptional performances inKhoobsurat and Vaastav. And now Khauff. He completes a hat-trick with thisfilm.

Considerable thought has gone into his role as Babu, but it does have shadesof Amitabh Bachchan's character in Satte Pe Satta. Sunjay Dutt's deliberate,measured tones are complemented by the deep, searching looks he givesManisha as he threatens her. Particularly the scene where he leads her tobelieve he will run her sister over, as well as the one where he actuallyfinishes off an acquaintance, Raja, are remarkable. Here, his performance isalmost matched by Kabir Lal's camerawork, and director Sanjay Gupta's way ofbuilding up the suspense. For a film named Khauff, such sequences becomevital.

However, Manisha Koirala is a marked contrast, and her insipid acting sticksout like a sore thumb. Even Jaspal Bhatti, Tinnu Anand, Suresh Oberoi andParmeet Sethi do a better job. Some nervous, rapid-fire lines the actress isassigned become unintelligible when she delivers them at breakneck speed,devoid of feeling. This puts a damper on Anand Wardhan's dialogues. In fact,part of the credit for the success of Sanjay Dutt's character should go tohis smart repartee. He delivers some really funny lines poker-faced, provingthat comedy is not outside his sphere of action either. Anu Malik's musicranks low on the film's production values, and drowns out the lyrics inKehte hain ki rog. Only Daler Mehndi's Ankh ladti hai to ladne de becomesspecial for a spirited guest appearance put in by Raveena Tandon. Wish sheand Manisha had swapped roles.

--Bella Jaisinghani