Ek Hasina Thi is 21: The twisted Saif-Urmila classic which gave us Sriram Raghavan

There are not many films that have been able to stand the test of time after two decades of their release. However, filmmaker Sriram Raghavan’s directorial, Ek Hasina Thi, manages to do exactly that. Yes, despite that illogical conclusion. A cave on a hill in the capital. What gives, writers?

But despite some loose strings, what has kept Ek Hasina Thi fresh in the minds of the audiences were its terrific lead performances by Saif Ali Khan and Urmila Matondkar. While Saif relished and sunk his teeth deep into the skin of Karan, the sly, suave and unsuspecting baddie of the film, it was Urmila who carried most of the load on her pretty and avenging shoulders.

At times unhinged and merciless (especially in the end), Urmila was hypnotic as Sarika, who ends up falling for the scheming Saif.

Filmmaker and co-writer Sriram Raghavan was not afraid to break boundaries right from the beginning of his career — making the film’s leading lady sleep with a man she barely knows, and then turning her into a force to reckon with — an upgraded (and more subtle) version of Rekha in Khoon Bhari Maang, if you will.

In an earlier interview with journalist Subhash K Jha, actor Saif Ali Khan had recalled his experience of working on the set and said, ” It was a great creative outlet. It was really low-budgeted. But the script had some immensely off-beat moments which made it a special film for the audience. It was truly liberating to work like that.”

While this was perhaps Saif’s first time doing an out-and-out dark role, he managed to convince the audience with his incredibly nuanced portrayal of the diabolical and debonair Karan.

The few loose moments that were hither-tither in the second half of the narrative came together to form an outlandish outro to the otherwise satisfying and edgy watch. Speaking about the same, director Sriram Raghavan had earlier told mid-day in an interview, “It’s so illogical. They are in Delhi. She takes him to some place in the hills. There is a cave there. But emotionally, the scene worked. I got a phone call from my sister in Delhi. She loved the film.”

Despite it being bizarre and slightly nonsensical, one couldn’t help but root for Urmila’s avenging character. And in the end, as they say, all is well that ends, because thanks to the film, we got our very own Alfred Hitchcock, Sriram Raghavan, and a courageous actor in Saif Ali Khan, who has since not been afraid to take up unconventional parts, be it a Langda Tyagi in Omkara or the zany fake Russian in the comedy, Go Goa Gone.

Also starring Seema Biswas and Aditya Srivastav in prominent roles, Ek Hasina Thi is available to stream on Prime Video.