Reviews
Parineeta (2005)
One point in favor of re-makes!
I had never read Sarat Chandra Chattopadhye's novel, nor had I watched any of the previous incarnations of Parineeta (1953 in Hindi and 1969 in Bengali), so I had very few preconceived notions about this movie. I was truly blown away by how beautiful it was. Set in early-1960s Calcutta, this romantic drama tells the story of childhood friends Lolita (Vidya Balan) and Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan) who grow up together as neighbors. Though their houses are only a few feet apart, their worlds are miles apart. He is rich, she is poor. He has parents who are prominent figures in society, she is an orphan. But shielded by their childhood innocent, they are blind to this reality and grow up to be extremely close. What they believe to be friendship slowly blossoms into love without either of them realizing it, until a wealthy, older suitor, Girish Babu (Sanjay Dutt) enters the pictures and pursues Lolita. You know what they say, sometimes you don't know what you have ... until it is gone.
Saif has come a very long way as an actor and he has quickly become one of my favorites. His performance in this movie is almost flawless, particularly in a movie genre where over-acting is not only tolerated, it is almost expected. And Vidya is a breath of fresh air with a lot of talent and I was delighted to see that not all new-comers to Indian cinema have to make a name for themselves by wearing skimpy clothes and play slutty girls opposite Bollywood heroes. The guest appearance by Rekha is also quite a treat!
Mohabbatein (2000)
A Modern Classic
Put a legend, an icon, a star, and six fresh buds waiting to bloom all in the same movie and what do you get? Mohabbatein. Sure, the story is the oft-repeated tale of forbidden love, unappreciated lovers and the traditions that gag and bind us, but the all-star cast, the skilled direction, and lively musical numbers all contribute to make this a movie worth noting.
The setting of Mohabbatein is the Gurukul School, an elite school housed in a cold, uninviting, castle-like edifice. Narayan Shankar (Amitabh Bachchan) is the stern, disciplinarian and somewhat tyrannical headmaster of Gurukul who rules the school with an iron fist.
The story begins on a dark and quiet night at the local train stations where three young men, prospective students at the school, meet on the platform and set out on a journey that brings them closer together than they ever could have imagined. Vicky (Uday Chopra) is an athletic, energetic playboy type, seemingly unshaken by the harsh reality of the school. Sameer (Jugal Hansraj) is the timid and shy one with boyish charm and innocent looks. And Karan (Jimmy Shergill) completes the trio as the more mature, intense member of the pack.
The three lads are struck by cupid's arrow when they meet the three heroines; Vicky loses his heart to a rich and spoiled girl named Ishika (Shamita Shetty) while Sameer is reunited with his childhood buddy, the bubbly Sanjana (Kim Sharma) and Karan falls hard for the bashful widow, Kiran (Preeti Jhangiani).
As with every true-to-form Bollywood movie, their love stories are met with several obstacles, such as differences in class, no-good boyfriends, and familial obligations, but the most important hurdle in their path is none other than Narayan Shankar who is convinced that love is a pure waste of time. A glimmer of hope comes their way when a maverick music teacher, Raj Aryan (Shah Rukh Khan) sweeps into the picture and helps nurture their young loves. What follows is a battle of good and evil, love and hate, and sheer determination and conviction on both sides at the end of which
(well, let's not get carried away! Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy!).
Hum Aapke Dil Mein Rehte Hain (1999)
Could have, should have, would have, ... didn't!
Hum Aapke ... is basically a case of real talent gone to waste. The plot is interesting and even intriguing but at the end, the film disappoints, even by Hindi movie standards, with a stagnant, slow-moving screenplay and overdone performances.
To give credit where credit is due, Kajol's performance is great and she could be said to have carried the movie on her back. Her character was portrayed beautifully and complemented everyone else's. The biggest flaw in the movie was the ending, which was over-dramatized and took away from the movie instead of adding to it. At the end, Kajol's character still remained misunderstood. From the beginning, the audience is led to believe that Anil is finally going to come around, but it wasn't really clear how his character felt and how and when he finally did come around. It seemed as though he decided to go back to his wife, not because he fell in love with her, but because of the gratitude he felt towards her, which does not address the void Kajol's character was feeling throughout the movie. A potentially good plot gone to waste.
The comedic subplot was repetitive and completely unrelated to the movie; hint: keep your thumb on the fast-forward button.
The songs are mediocre at best, and the first one (which includes a Hindi rap) is off the charts as far as horrid music goes. This movie is worth a watch only if your other choices are unavailable.
Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000)
Eye of the beholder...
KNPH is certainly another step in the right direction for Bollywood, both in terms of script writing and acting. Hrithik Roshan delivers a strong performance which goes a long way to give him credibility, considering the blatant case of nepotism that landed him the role in the first place (although he maintains that he has struggled much in his life to get to this point - which I am willing to give him; an assassination attempt on one's father certainly counts, but if I am not mistaken, that happened after the fact).
Amisha Patel's performance, while a good-enough debut performance, leaves much to be desired. Her "over"-acting borders on annoying at times, but does not detract that much from the movie and I'd attribute it to inexperience rather than a lack of talent. And apart from her character, there wasn't much overacting in the movie to speak of.
I definitely have a bone to pick with the script writer for the unoriginal (shocker) and out-of-place use of the "hand motion over the face" blatantly taken from the Travolta/Cage movie "Face-Off." The gesture was annoying in Face-Off and it is annoying in KNPH.
Overall, the movie is certainly worth a watch and the newcomers are going places. Hrithik especially proves to be more than just a pretty face which is refreshing to see.
Dil (1990)
A cliche done beautifully...
First of all, it is Bollywood! So stop looking for signs of a Spielberg flick!! True, the plot is a Bollywood cliché; rich girl, poor boy, angry parents, etc. But keep in mind that the story line wasn't so tired and typical when this movie was first released and helped lead to a decade of romance-driven Bollywood movies. Khan portrays a solid character who has both comical and dramatic moments beautifully acted by him. And Madhuri, who won a best actress award for this role, delivers a great performance. The soundtrack is very good, thanks to the exceptional voice of Udit Narayan whose smile you can "hear" through the music. I gave this movie 5 starts instead of 4 because I have such fond memories of watching it when it came out in 1990. But compared to other Bollywood movies, it should really be a 4.
Dil Chahta Hai (2001)
A refreshing departure from the cliche...
What is refreshing about this movie is that it is a departure from the tired cliche of rich-girl-falls-in-love-with-dirt-poor-boy routine which usually leads to family feuds and ends in one extreme or the other; either in tragedy or a happily-ever-after fate.
This is a non-apologetic look at the story of rich, urban kids who, while representing a minute fraction of the society, are still a real aspect of Indian life.
Also, the non-traditional unorthodox romance between Sid and an older women with problems of her own is daring, considering the culture this movie comes from.