Zeher

Zeher (Poison) (released 2005) is a Hindi language Indian film directed by Mohit Suri. The film was reputed to be a direct copy of the English film Out of Time. The film's moderate success is attributed to its musical score.

Story:

In a small town in Goa steeped in azure seas and sultry secrets, the chief of local police station, Siddharth (Emran Hashmi) finds himself caught in the eye of a storm…and about to get blown away.

Siddharth, who is going through a divorce with his wife, Sonia (Shamita Shetty) whom he still loves, finds himself involved with a local married woman named Anna (Udita Goswami). Unable to cope with the pressures of his wife's success who is in the special police force, he continues his secret and dangerous relationship with Anna.

Things get even more complicated when Siddharth realizes that Anna's husband, Shawn (Sameer Kochhar) is a wife beater 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 evidences points to him.

With his wife 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 wife's love back.

Finally He Succeded

Controversy

The film had its share of controversy when a leading Pakistani band, Jal, accused the producers of stealing their song, Woh Lamhe. The music director, Anu Malik, credited himself for only "re-creating" the song on the album, but there was still a heavily noticeable resemblance. Roop Kumar Rathod is credited as the "composer", even though he is not affiliated with Jal in any way. The singer, though, is an ex-member of Jal, Atif Aslam, who has gone through legal problems over the band name "Jal" with the existing members.

Another song on the album was also reportedly copied, but no controversy developed. The song, Agar Tum Mil Jao on the original soundtrack is heavily reminiscent of a ghazal with the same name, sung by Tasavvur Khanum, another Pakistani.

As for the movie itself, critics have noted it as almost striking a scene by scene resemblance to the 2003 movie, Out of Time starring Denzel Washington, down to the dialogues. Almost every plot element remains in Zeher. For example, the fax scene happens almost exactly in Zeher as it does in Out of Time, almost word-for-word, just translated.

Songs

• Agar Tum Mil Jao by Shreya Ghoshal
• Woh Lamhe Woh Baatein by Atif Aslam
• Jaane Ja Jaane Ja by Udit Narayan, Shreya Ghoshal
• Aye Bekhabar by Kay Kay
• Agar Tum Mil Jao-2 by Udit Narayan
• Lamhe (DJ Suketu Mix) by Atif Aslam