But in Contract, bad guy Sultan (Zakir Hussain) is a melodramatic filmi evil guy, as he tilts his head to frighten you when talking about placing bombs in schools. The actor is a good artiste and does give you the creeps, but one shudders imagining this excessiveness in the hands of a lesser performer. This excessiveness, a departure for Varma, is a strong constant in the film. Its aim is naturally to make the film less elusive and more commercial.

Contract makes tall claims of exploring the nexus between the underworld and terrorism (the most likely match, so where’s the surprise?), but there’s very little scratching under the surface. It’s actually just a well-made thriller, with the hero spouting dialogues and managing to overcome all towards the end—he even falls in love somewhere along the line.

This you gather through the promos—that the film is a typical Ram Gopal Varma product, diluted to make it more palatable, and, therefore, there is a weariness with which you tend to approach it. Bad news: it is the same ol’ same ol’. Good news: despite the blatant commercialisation attempt, the film is not bad.

With that let’s delve into the plot: Aman Malik’s family (a tribute to Company’s Malik?), comprising his wife and little daughter, is killed in a bomb blast. To avenge their death, Aman wants to reach the big boss of such hate crimes, Sultan. And he intends to do so through top cop Ahmad Hussain (Prasad Purandare, subtly effective). Hussain agrees to help him infiltrate the gang in return for vital information about their inside workings. This is the ‘contract’ as it were.

Aman is re-christened Amaan and a step-by-step ‘recruitment guide’ helps him enter the dreaded gangster RD’s gang. RD (Sumeet Nijhawan) works for Sultan and their enemy is rival gang leader Goonga (Upendra Limaye), who we understand is in cahoots with the Intelligence Bureau, and, currently, on a sort of exile on sea. Then begins Aman’s journey to reach Sultan, and in between, he must juggle the police, Goonga’s rivalry and winning RD’s trust.

Sounds flaky, but you can’t dismiss the film completely—there are some poignant moments like the brutal shot of Aman’s daughter’s bloodstained shoe. For solid effect, the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star rhyme is tweaked to incorporate unlikely lyrics like post mortem and bomb, sung by a little girl. There are more disturbing scenes like Aman in a gang member’s house witnessing him beating his frightened wife over delayed coffee.

Murders are lovingly captured, sometimes in slow motion, and we are subjected to ECUs (extreme close-ups) of dead bodies. Note two murders—in one, a glass window shatters leisurely only to let a bullet inside; and another takes place in a movie theatre. Black humour percolates off and on—note the scene where an encounter specialist is running naked on the streets for his life and a voyeur clicks his picture on his mobile. Or when Goonga’s wife aboard a glamorous ship, in the middle of a meeting discussing murderous details, dries clothes on the ship’s edge.

A constant in most RGV films is the high performance quotient—whether you like the film or not, you can be sure to be blown away by the acting, especially by the non-central characters. The credit, to Varma’s ability of extracting such performances, must be shared with his astute, infallible casting.

Varma’s newest find Adhvik suits the role and has presence, but he could have gone easy on the scowling. Sakshi Gulati as Iya makes a very promising debut with her unconventional beauty and an interesting presence.

As usual, Varma’s women are delightfully edgy. Goonga’s wife (Amruta Subhash, perfect) would have made for a delightful character had Varma not turned her into a bit of a caricature. Iya starts off as an interesting, peculiar character, completely at home with the violence around her, but love (no prizes for guessing with whom) does her in and she’s a simpering devotee soon after.

The film has the distinction of having the most boring item song ever (featuring Shama Sikander). Dialogue by Prashant Pandey is interesting at places, and annoyingly over the top at others. The recurring ‘jaan se jyaada kaam’ cuts no ice.

Technically, Contract is a delight. Cinematography (Aseem Mishra) is excellent save for the ODing on extreme close-ups. The disconcerting background score by Amar Mohile is superb and the songs only add to the fervour.

Watch Contract and enjoy it as a flick. The film is way too implausible for you to take its tagline ‘Underworld meets Terrorism’ seriously.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars