The story begins with Haseena Parkar (Shraddha Kapoor) being summoned to court as a case of extortion is registered against her. She arrives in a convoy of black and yellow taxis. A clever spin on the usual device of gangsters moving around in SUV convoys. But that’s  where the film’s adroitness ends. From there on, it becomes a court case where every allegation by the prosecutor triggers a flash back into Haseena past. Ironically a legal testimony in court becomes a sentimental and personal look back into the life of Dawood Ibrahim’s sister. Ironically, the magistrate in the film even taunts the prosecutor that her arguments and reasoning seem more like a biography rather than a legal examination. That’s exactly the problem with Haseena Parkar, it’s a film that thinks its being clever, when in reality it’s not.

The series of flashbacks from Haseena’s life have very little emotional depth or guile. On one hand she’s shown as a timid and susceptible woman and then in random bouts she becomes a feisty woman who isn’t afraid of brandishing her gangster brother’s name to influence and scare people. There’s a constant attempt at creating a contrast. Is Haseena a shrewd woman or just a victim of her family’s infamy? While a detailed and mature exploration of this theme would have made Haseena Parkar a commendable film, director Apoorva Lakhia and writer Suresh Nair manage to add no value to the subject at hand. The screenplay jumps and cuts through the story with childish fervour. There’s a lot of attention to filmmaking craft but no attempt to tell a coherent tale.

Shraddha Kapoor’s performance as the stone faced Haseena pouting dialogue with a slur is patchy. She seems okay when she keeps a straight face, but every time the narrative makes her an emotional girl, especially in the earlier parts of the flashbacks, she looks less convincing. Yet, the actress has given the role and the film an earnest shot. The prosthetic inserts in the jaw  do little to enhance her performance though. Siddhanth Kapoor as Dawood Ibrahim, her brother, has a hit and miss role. He doesn’t get the right scenes nor the screen presence to play a character like Dawood. Supporting performances by Ankur Bhatia, Priyanka Serbia and Rajesh Tailang are average at best.

Haseena Parkar could have been a real thriller had it been serious about telling serious story. But it tries to add too much masala and style to story and serves up absolutely no substance. As a result, the only female who made a presence in Mumbai’s fabled underworld is reduced to being a stylised character with fancy dialogue but no real meaning.