# Zeher

Zeher (transl. Poison) is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film directed by debutant Mohit Suri and produced by Mahesh Bhatt. The film stars Emraan Hashmi, Shamita Shetty and Udita Goswami, and is an adaptation of the 2003 American film Out of Time. Released on 25 March 2005, the film was moderately successful at the box office.

## Plot

In a small town in Goa steeped in azure seas and sultry secrets, the chief of the local police station, Siddharth, finds himself caught in the midst of a brewing storm. He is going through a divorce with his wife, Sonia, whom he still loves, but finds himself involved with a local married woman named Anna. Unable to cope with the pressures of his wife's success, who is in the special police force, he continues his secret relationship with Anna. But despite his affair with Anna, Siddharth is still in love with Sonia and can’t forget about her.
Things get even more complicated when Siddharth realizes that Anna's husband, Sean, is abusive and Anna is dying from cancer. Being a good soul, Siddharth does not have it in him to abandon this woman, who seems to have given him some affection in recent times.
In the heat of the moment, Siddharth takes an irrational decision to give Anna the money he recovered in a drug raid for her medication in a final effort to save her. Things are not what they seem since Anna dies in a fire that very night. Siddharth now races to uncover a murky tail of drug money, murder, and deceit because all the evidence points to him.
With Sonia heading the case, Siddharth is now in a race against time to find out the real truth behind Anna's murder, recover the drug money, and also win his Sonia's love back.
After a bunch of wild goose chases, Siddharth finds out that Anna is alive and was actually controlling Sean and Siddharth in the whole plot for getting the insurance money. Siddharth finds this out, and while confronting Anna with the truth, Anna points a gun at him. In the scuffle that follows, Sonia shoots Anna, and she provides the alibi for him, stating that Anna's death was an accident.
Siddharth recovers the lost drug money and reconciles with Sonia.

## Cast

* Emraan Hashmi as Siddharth Mehra: Goa Police officer, Sonia's husband
* Shamita Shetty as Sonia Mehra: Special Investigating Officer, Siddharth’s wife
* Udita Goswami as Anna Varghese
* Samir Kochhar as Sean Varghese
* Ninad Kamat as James: Siddharth’s friend
* Vishwajeet Pradhan as Sooraj Shah: Narcotics Inspector
* Prasad Oak as Nihaal: Sonia's assistant
* Puneet Vashist as Rahul Varma
* Kunal Deshmukh as Assistant Director
* Nikhil Ratnaparakhi as police officer
* Prantik Khan as Pratik

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Zeher was composed by Anu Malik, Roop Kumar Rathod, Mithoon, Jal: the Band and Naresh Sharma with lyrics were penned by Sayeed Quadri and Shakeel Azmi.
According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 1,800,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's fourth highest-selling.
| Track No | Song | Artist | Composer |
| 1 | "Agar Tum Mil Jao" (Female) | Shreya Ghoshal | Anu Malik |
| 2 | "Woh Lamhe Woh Baatein" | Atif Aslam | Mithoon, Jal: the band, Naresh Sharma |
| 3 | "Jaane Jaa Jaane Jaa" | Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghoshal | Roop Kumar Rathod |
| 4 | "Aye Bekhabar" | K.K. | Roop Kumar Rathod |
| 5 | "Agar Tum Mil Jao" (Male) | Udit Narayan | Anu Malik |
| 6 | "Lamhe (Remix)" | Atif Aslam | Jal, Naresh Sharma, Mithoon |
| 7 | "Zamana Chhod Denge Hum" | Udit Narayan | Anu Malik |
| 8 | "Agar Tum Mil Jao" (Instrumental) | Instrumental | Anu Malik |

## Reception

Jaspreet Pandohar of BBC.com gave the film 3 out of 5, writing, "Zeher is a good example of how the new generation of contemporary Bollywood films are capable of handling sexual themes in a mature and entertaining manner." Patcy N of Rediff.com wrote that "The film is just about watchable, because of the story in the second half. It's the kind of film that's decent timepass, provided you are watching it at home on television".

## Awards

Nominations:
* Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer (2005) – Atif Aslam
* Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer (2005) – Shreya Ghosal
* Zee Cine Award for Best Popular Track of the Year (2005)
* Zee Cine Award for Best Playback Singer – Male (2005) – Atif Aslam
* IIFA Award for Best Male Playback Singer (2006) – Atif Aslam
* Screen Award for Best Debut Director (2006) – Mohit Suri
* Screen Award for Best Playback Singer – Male (2006) – Atif Aslam