Vikram Bhatt is the story writer of this film and its clear that he has grown up on the same movies that we did..and has a special penchant for thrillers. The sad part is that his adaptations, apart from Raaz, leave much to be desired. For Yakeen, Bhatt decides to indianise a Wolfgang Petersen film, probably expecting that no one would notice. However, sadly, for the discerning moviegoer, the first few scenes actually give the plot away. For those who haven't seen the original Tom Berenger-Greta Scacchi starrer “Shattered”, Yakeen holds a fair amount of interest although since the original was a far-fetched pot-boiler, Yakeen will be fairly unpalatable to Bollywood audiences. Having seen Shattered and recognizing the plot almost immediately, I must say that I was enthralled by Yakeen, at least for the first half.

The film starts with a car going over a cliff and it transpires that both passengers have survived. However, Nikhil Oberoi (Arjun Rampal) is in a coma and is badly disfigured whereas his wife Simer (Priyanka Chopra) seems to have escaped almost unscathed. Gradually Nikhil is resuscitated and reconstructed, a long process in which Simer plays a leading role. However, Nikhil is suffering from Psychogenic amnesia and has no memories. Life appears to be hunky dory until Nikhil discovers that he had made a will in which he had disinherited his wife. It also transpires that he was about to divorce Simer. He begins to wonder.

Small pieces of the puzzle start to come together and he discovers that Simer had been having an affair. Simer on the other hand, dashes off to call Kabir, her so-called paramour and arranges to meet him, telling Nikhil that she has to go and see her aunt. Following her, Nikhil discovers a shocking truth. To say anymore would be giving the plot away.

Yakeen is a great fun although there are holes as big as craters in the film. But if you go along for the ride, who cares if there is the occasional glitch. Its not to be rationalized, just sat back and enjoyed. Girish Dhamija really just lifts “Shattered” in its entirety with a little bit of indianisation thrown in. The problem with Yakeen is that its not as film that bollywood audiences would make a connection with at all. It's an out and out thriller with twists and turns, but none that your average viewer will either appreciate or enjoy. Its OK for Shattered to have the climax that it did because the simple outrageousness of it would be jerk your Hollywood audience..but with Bollywood having grown up on “mask dramas” and “humshakals”, Yakeen holds no allure. Vikram Bhatt should really have understood the psyche of his audience; clearly he didn't because Yakeen was an outrageous flop.

Arjun Rampal is better in Yakeen than he has been for a while...which is sadly not saying much. Priyanka simmers and simpers in turn. The songs are dreadful and really should have been edited out of the film. At 2 hours, its actually a fun ride, with the odd bumps here and there on the way. Good way to spend an afternoon. Must say that I enjoyed it greatly.