Producer: Naveen Tak
Director: Karan Razdan
Cast:  Gulshan Grover, Mahima Choudhary, Padmini Kolhapure, Shakti Kapoor
Music: Anand-Miland
 
A stepmother in most cultures is portrayed as an evil person, and that's exactly what Mahima Chaudhary is playing in Karan Razdan's "Souten - The Other Woman" releasing Friday.

More than two decades ago, Saawan Kumar Tak made "Souten" with Rajesh Khanna, Tina Munim and Padmini Kolhapure, which was a huge hit then. Coincidently, his nephew Navin Kumar Tak produces the new film.

The common thread between the two films is Padmini Kolhapure, who played 'the other woman' in the original. But in this film she is donning a different role - she plays a narrator and a moralist.

The film focuses on Raj (Vikram Singh), who is in love with Sapna (Kiran Rathod). Sapna's jealous stepmother Mitali (Mahima Choudhary) cannot bear the fact that her stepdaughter is getting attention from a young man because she is stuck with the middle-aged Thakur Ranbeer Singh.

Dissatisfied and frustrated, Mitali causes trouble for Sapna by seducing her boyfriend. Smita (Padmini Kolhapure), who is married to Raj's elder brother Sumer Singh (Shakti Kapoor), tries to put the story on the moral track.

The scribes wrote off Razdan's recent release "Umar" but he seems to be undeterred by the criticism and claims that "Souten", which is laced with lots of steamy scenes, will do well at the box office.

Unfortunately, the theme is not very hot in Bollywood and the prospect of seeing another film about the other woman is likely to elicit a yawn from the audience.

The director is, however, positive about the film and says he has treated it differently to meet the expectations of the audience.