RNJBOND Reviews

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

An excellent movie that deserved the Oscar...

[10/10 · 28 April 2002]

With no doubt, Lagaan is an excellent film. High on entertainment, morals, production values, and emotions.

For most part, those that criticize Lagaan are either those that try to put themselves forward as being more intelligent than the masses, or those that didn't get the true message of the film.

Lagaan is a movie about many things; not just about Cricket. Lagaan is a movie about a war without bloodshed. Lagaan is a movie about the triumph of human spirit. Lagaan is a movie about unity in gender, religion, race, and class.

The movie is not just about a cricket match. India won its independence through non-violence, and that concept is mirrored here in the way that Champaner liberates itself from the British occupation. War doesn't have to be fought with guns; here it is fought with bats and balls.

Human spirit is what triumphs against all odds in Lagaan and it is shown in a realistic manner. The British were overconfident about their victory and only lightly practiced; that too half-heartedly. Meanwhile, the villagers spent three months of intensive training, day by day. For those three months, cricket was their life; it is what would determine their future. And the moment the final shot of this war is delivered, the triumph overcomes the viewer, and the viewer is filled with absolute joy. Why? Because they too see how human spirit has triumphed against all odds.

Some may complain that Lagaan shows the British in absolute negative light. This, however, is most definitely not true. As previously stated, Lagaan is a film about unity. First and foremost, the British in this film are British Imperialists. Saying that Lagaan is anti-British is like saying that "Schindler's List" is anti-German. Additionally, we see how not all the British go along with this plan. Captain Russel's sister feels that this is unfair, as do many of Russel's senior officers. And, it very well is true that many of the British Imperialists at the time were that antagonizing. Additionally, the theme of unity is brought forward throughout the film, mainly during the building of the team. We see women, such as Gauri and Elizabeth, play an important role in the team's victory. We see men of all religions (Sikhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.) working together towards victory. When Kachra, the untouchable, is brought forward into the team, what we see is not an unrealistic speech; we see a social message.

Most throughout the world view India as a land of absolute destitution, without learning about its rich heritage or culture, or what India is capable of. Even when India proves its worth, criticism is brought about (such as the case with nuclear testing). Lagaan proves to the world that India is not as they think it really is. While films like "Salaam Bombay!" are truly excellent, they only feed this general and negative perception of India.

Very well, Lagaan is worth a chance by anyone, no matter where they're from. Lagaan has been appreciated by foreigners throughout the world, and nothing can move it away from that. -Rishi J

Aalavandhan (2001)

Abhay: Psychotic Thriller or just plain psycho?

[5 December 2001]

Abhay has been heavily hyped for a long time. It was looking to be a very different film from Bollywood norm of sappy romances. The storyline for the movie is said to have been conceived and written by Kamal Hassan over ten years ago, so it's hard for one not to get excited about such a film. So how exactly does it turn out?

Story: Vijay Kumar is a special forces commando stationed in Kashmir. He has a girlfriend, Tejaswani, whom he is planning to wed within due time. When both of them get together, they decide to get Abhay, Vijay's brother, to attend the wedding. However, their requests to the doctor are denied as they deem Abhay unfit for society. During their visit, Abhay sees Tejaswani and immediately remembers his evil stepmother and threatens to kill her. Vijay and Tejaswani leave immediately. Abhay escapes from the mental institute and kills his two assailants. On the way to find Tejaswani, he gets involved in drugs, and gets really high along the way, killing two people during the process, one of whom was a girl he was in love with. Eventually, Vijay and Tejaswani leave the city to escape from Abhay. Vijay finds his old home, and finds a diary written by Abhay. He opens it up to discover a few things from Abhay's past. What does he find out? How does the story continue from here? Watch Abhay to find out!

The story is extremely impressive, on paper. However, the execution of the story is poor. The pacing of the story is very wrong, especially with two scenes in particular: When Abhay gets high, and Abhay's flashback to childhood. Both of the scenes are stretched out way too long, and would bore all but the most patient viewers. Story Rating: 9.5/10 Overall Story Rating (including handling): 6/10

Performances: Acting throughout is a varied point. Kamal Hassan does an okay job as Major Vijay Kumar, but special commendation goes to his second role as Abhay. His intense portrayal is excellent, and there is no confusion at all about Abhay's character. Raveena Tandon is nothing really special, but then again, her role isn't anything special. Manisha Koirala is irritating in her `special appearance' with her feigned American accent. The supporting cast is merely okay. Rating: 7/10

Direction: Direction is quite weak. As previously mentioned, the story is handled poorly. Certain scenes extend way too long, which confuse the viewer many times. The narrative through the movie isn't handled well, as the flashback sequences are too long and tiring to watch. Rating: 4 /10

Technical Aspects: Abhay really succeeds on special effects. The special effects during Abhay's `high sequence' are impressive. It works very well to show the world from Abhay's perspective at that point. The animation looks good, but there's a bit too much of it, adding to the unbelievably of the situation. The action sequences also deserve special mention. The ending chase scene is especially good, with some great stunts, and well-paced action. Cinematography isn't really anything special. It's suitably gritty in the first half, but really serves no purpose in the second half. Also, there are some nice camera effects used in the film. Editing varies; it's slick at other times, and bad at others. Rating: 9/10

Songs: The music for Abhay is well-composed and Javed Akhtar's lyrics are good. The songs might not be instantly catchy, but they fit the mood of the story well. However, placement of the songs is quite weak.

(In order):

Hasde Hasde: A fun-loving number, but nothing really special as far as picturization. Picturized at an engagement party between Vijay and Tejaswani.

Kaltak Mujko Gaurav Tha: A great number, but not used too well in the film. Having Abhay dance around holding a flyer isn't really the best way to picturize a number like this. This could have worked if it had several placements throughout the film, like `Watan Walo' from Indian. However, the picturization at the end credits is a bit better, with Abhay moving around in the rain, tinted with a green lens.

Rain Dance Number: A number not on the soundtrack. It's picturized as a dance number between Abhay and Manisha. Really pointless, and not even a good composition.

Zingoria: A nice dance number with Manisha Koirala. The dance is performed quite well, but hampers the narrative. This is where Abhay first sees Manisha Koirala in real life.

Hey! Who are you? : Picturized as a sensual encounter between Abhay and Manisha, this one really makes no impact. Only a few lines from this already weak song are used, so one cannot even consider this song used in the film.

Khoyal Mili Tumko: A background song as Tejaswani and Vijay are leaving the city. It's a nice song, but hampers the pace of the movie, just as Zingoria did.

Dekho Abhay: Background music during the final chase scene. It works well in the background, adding the right action feel to the song.

Rating: 5.5/10

Overall: Abhay is an interesting film, hampered by its weak narrative. The movie is worth watching only for the concept, special effects, and action scenes. However, the movie requires a lot of patience to sit through. Overall Rating (not an average): 6.2/10

Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega (2001)

What is this?

[9/10 · 18 July 2001]

Love Ke Liye Kuch Be Karega While I was roaming around at the video store, I happened to find this in the new releases section. I first took a look at the cast list and was quite impressed with the star list. With names like Sonali Bendre, Aftab, Fardeen Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Twinkle Khanna, and Dilip Tahil, I was amazed to see a multistarrer of such proportions. What really excited me, however, was the director. E. Niwas who had directed the flawless Shool a year and half ago was also directing this film. I immediately rented this one out with high expectations. And, to say the least, I'm not really disappointed, though it could've been better. Story: Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega sums up the entire story line. Starting out with hilarious narration by Paresh Rawal, we learn the problems of the main protaginists and their stories. Sapna (Sonali Bendre) is a really bad artist, but Prakash (Saif Ali Khan) has fallen in love with her for the money. They wed and Prakash gets everything he wants, except respect from his baoji (Dilip Tahil), Rajiv Kapoor, a wealthy industrialist. He plans a new website, but is unable to get funding from Rajiv. Meanwhile, Rahul (Fardeen Khan) is already in love with Anjali (Twinkle Khanna), but is unable to hold onto a steady job, and thus is unable to pay the rent for his apartment, owned by Anjali's Tamil-speaking father. Rahul lives with Harry (Aftab), a lazy man who wants to become rich without working. And so begins the story. Somehow, fate conspires and brings Rahul and Harry to Prakash, where Prakash devises a plan to get money. It involves kidnapping Sapna, and holding her ransom to get money from Rajiv. Each have their own uses for the money. Prakash to start a new business and earn respect. Rahul to get a job (one which requires a bribe) and to pay off the landlord. Harry to travel the world and pay off Aslam Bhai (Johnny Lever), the local chor, who wants to become an actor some day.

The story is quite interesting and compelling, but inside all the pretty wrappings, it comes down to a "man wants to marry woman, but father disagrees" story. Still, the story is pretty interesting and makes the movie fun to watch, with a bunch of twists thrown in for good measure. Rating: 7/10

Acting: LKLKBK comes out quite well in this department. With a multistarrer cast, one would expect it to excell, however. Twinkle Khanna is given almost nothing to do, other than look pretty. Sonali Bendre is ok, but all she does is whine and cry (and look pretty). Saif surprised me. I usually dislike his acting, but his comic timing in this movie was great. He was especially memorable in the scene where he tries to fake sadness and anguish. Fardeen Khan is pretty good, playing the part of a man in need of a job convincingly. Aftab, however, is the big surprise of the movie. After seeing him in Kasoor, I couldn't expect a good comic performance from him. How wrong I was. Aftab is extremely funny in this movie, with a more subtle humor than one would expect in a typical film. And Aftab along with Fardeen make an extremely funny team throughout the movie. Johnny Lever is also funny in his parts, especially his acting scenes and his meetings with Aaj Kapoor. Dilip is, of course, great as the objectional father, and is funny at times. Rating: 9/10

Direction/Technical editing The direction is excellent, with scenes flowing extremely well. E. Niwas has proved his excellence as a solo director, ready to take on the previous greats of Bollywood. However, the editing is a little weak. Some of Johnny Lever's scenes are a tad longer than required, and other scenes are a tad short. Rating: 9/10

Songs: If LKLKBK has a weak point, this is it. The songs, composed by Vishal Bhardwaj are boring, and most are worth skipping. The picturization for a few songs are good, but nothing new. The only song worth watching is Aslam Bhai, both for its picturization, and its fun lyrics. Rating: 5/10

Favorite Scenes This movie has several great scenes, but three really stick out as the most hilarious: The Sonali kidnapping scene, the Saif crying scene, and the Aslam Bhai "acting mechanics" scene. Also, for some reason, the scenes where the landlord keeps switching between Hindi and Tamil (between Fardeen and his family) is fun to watch. Rating: 10/10

DVD review This is where the film (not necessarily the movie) truly faultors. The DVD is pure BS. Sure, it has the standard Hindi movie features of song and chapter menus and subtitles, along with an extremely fun-loving "Making of..." feature, but Video Sound needs to learn how to make DVDs that people will enjoy. You see, the problem is that when you start the DVD up, you have to sit through ads. 10 minutes of ads! And, to make it worse, they're all the same. Half are ads for Tum Bin, and the other half for Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ka. They're not even midly entertaining to watch once, and watching them everytime you start the movie is absolutely rediculous. They're impossible to skip over, even after trying all possible tricks to get p a s s e d it. Thus, I can only recommend this DVD for a rent, and nothing close to a purchase (unless you have that much patience). Rating: 2/10

Overall: This is a great movie to watch a few times. It's extremely funny with more intelligent humor than your average movie (similar to Hera Pheri in that aspect). Not a movie to be missed, but I would recommend leaving this in the store due to the horrendous DVD. Rating of movie (not an average): 8.3 Rating of movie with DVD (not an average): 7.1