Reviews

If I wait any more to say all the things I want to say about this great soul-stirring movie I will never be able to say it.It is the best use of the film medium that I have seen in a long long time.Here in the west we have virtually abandoned good cinema.Where are our Capras,our Wilders, our Hitchcocks, our David Leans? We make trivia now that neither entertain nor enlighten.To put it very bluntly, we make utter trash.Good work in the world is being done elsewhere, especially in India where a Bhansali stretches the limits of cinematic expression, where a new Wilder emerges in the shape of Anees Bazmee, where Shaad Ali springs a surprise with a Bunty Aur Bubbly,where out of nowhere comes a Guru Dutt in the garb of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and takes us to a new level of awareness and self-discovery through cinema in a stunning masterpiece called Rang De Basanti.

I challenge anyone to name a film made anywhere in the last fifteen years or so to hold a candle to this one.It is simply awesome.As an entertainer it is superb, as purposeful film it goes even further.As a fearless, bold crusader for just causes it is beyond compare.The whole team deserves to be congratulated.

Apart from the tremendous contribution made by the writers and the director of the movie, the people who need to be singled out and applauded for the high quality of their work are Aamir Khan(his best role yet),Soha Ali Khan(who finally claims our attention with this role and is destined to be as distinguished as her mother Sharmila Tagore). Waheeda Rehman makes you feel that Guru Dutt is back directing her from heaven.Kirron Kher who is improving with every picture.And all the boys from Kunal Kapoor to Atul Kulkarni.All have turned in amazing performances.After Devdas and Munna Bhai MBBS, Binod Pradhan has once again shown that as an ace cameraman he is second to none.And what can you say about A.R. Rahman?This time he even sings like a pro.He is paired here for the first time with Prasoon Joshi who makes you think of Majrooh Sultanpuri.But before I forget, I must mention Alice Patten. She is a joy to behold.And she makes a great pair with Aamir.

The film does not have a single dull moment in it.It can be repeated again and again with increasing returns to the viewer.It is a crossover film and needs to be seen by every one in the world.Its publicity and promotion should be geared to that.It should be sent to every international film festival in the world and should be India's entry to the Oscars this year.

I saw Taj Mahal on opening night here(Nov. 18) at the Naz8 in Lakewood,California.The film had many flaws in the writing and in some of the performances.Akbar Khan did not present it in dynamic, powerful,cinematic terms.He treated it a though he was making an expensive TVserial.But what makes it eminently watchable even as cinema are the two actors who play the lead roles.Sonya Jehan and Zulfikar Sayed have lived up to expectations.Here credit must be given to Akbar Khan who has taken this bold step of introducing new talent in lead roles.But the greatest credit Akbar deserves is for bringing back India'greatest composer the legendary Naushad.His music(both in the songs and the background music) is superb.I intend to see this movie again and again just because of its music.And that is why I have given it a 10.Naushad's earlier hits like Anmol Ghadi, Baiju Bawra, Mother India,Uran Khatola and Mughal-E-Azam(to name just a few) had twelve songs each. I wish Taj Mahal had the same number.If Akbar had done this TajMahal, with all its flaws, would have been the biggest hit of all times.Even now numbers like Ajnabi Thero Zara,Mumtaz Tujhe Dekha and ApniZulfen will carry Taj Mahal far.

I saw The Rising on Saturday at the 3p.m. show at Naz8 in Lakewood,Southern California. I loved it so much that I went to see it again at9.30 p.m. show at Cinema City in Anaheim Hills which is nearer my home in Yorba Linda.This time I loved it even more.On Sunday I saw it for the third time with my son and his wife and a cousin of mine.That is three times in two days. I plan to see it again tomorrow with my wife and some friends.I do not want to describe a scene or give away any part of the story because I might be accused of being a spoiler.My point is to inform my readers that finally a film has emerged from India that takes us back to the golden era of movies, when dedicated filmmakers like MehboobKhan, when geniuses like Naushad and Majrooh Sultanpuri,when committed filmmakers like Guru Dutt touched our hearts and our souls.When K.Asifmade Mughal-E-Azam which retains its magic and luster even forty-five years after its release.The Rising is that kind of movie.It tells us, in no uncertain terms,what a movie can do and what movie magic is all about.After MehboobKhan, Ketan Mehta is another gift from Gujarat to the Bombay film industry.He has directed The Rising with amazing dexterity and professional competence.His cameraman Dhamija is almost as good asFaredoon Irani, Jal Mistry or R.D.Mathur.And they as everyone knows were giants.The art direction, the editing, the choreography is topnotch.And as far as performances are concerned it will be a long time before somebody even comes close to Aamir Khan.He has stretched himself to the limit and then gone beyond it.Toby Stephens gives him excellent support.Rani and Amisha in their small roles are effective.The team ofJaved Akhtar and A.R. Rahman are once again at their very best.Rahman'background score, though unobtrusive, is awesome.This is a movie that keeps you absorbed from start to finish.It is gripping, entertaining and what's more enlightening.And with each viewing you like it more.It deserves to be India's entry for the Oscars.If it is sent by India,it will definitely be nominated in all eligible categories and win inmost categories, especially in the best foreign film category.The entire team behind the creation of this great movie deserves to be applauded and congratulated.They have made India proud.

I saw Bride & Prejudice here in Irvine on the second day of its release with my cousin.I recommended it to my son and his wife who went to a later showing.Yesterday I took my wife and two of her friends and saw it for the second time.This time I loved it even more.Actually they all loved it and remained glued to their seats right up to the credit titles at the end which were accompanied by very funny outtakes.

Gurinder Chadha has done a terrific job of directing and of adapting a classic.Photography by Santosh Sivan is magnificent.Anu Malik's music is a delight.After Murder and Main Hoon Na, both hits, he has come up with yet another very hummable score.Lyrics by Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar are excellent.They have charm and freshness.Dances are choreographed with style and verve by one of India's greatest choreographers Saroj Khan.

This is truly a crossover film.And with this film Aishwarya Rai has finally arrived.She is just amazing.She carries the film on her thin shoulders.Martin Henderson is a good match.Nadira Babbar as Aishwarya's mother is fun to watch.All the others have turned in good performances.I wish there was more of Sonali Kulkarni, but then, you can't have everything.

I loved Gurinder's Bend It Like Beckham but Bride & Prejudice surpasses that and is a much more assured work.While the rest of the world was slow to recognize it,America will make this a hit of blockbuster proportions, which it truly deserves.

Shahrukh Khan,Farah Khan,Javed Akhtar,Anu Malik and Abbas Tyrewala make Main Hoon Na one of the greatest entertaining movies of all time.It acknowledges all the great masters who have made the Indian film industry so great.From Mehboob Khan, V.Shantaram, Raj Kapoor to Nasir Husain and Manmohan Desai every major filmmaker in the past fifty years has been referred to.Many hit tunes and songs of R.D.Burman, especially those written by the legendary lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri are part of the background and foreground.The song that launched Farah Khan's career as choregrapher in Nasir Husain's Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar - Pehla Nasha, Pehla Khumar sung by Udit Narayan and Sadhana Sargam - is also mentioned.

Shahrukh Khan has given a restrained and mature performance - probably his best.With this film Sushmita Sen has caught up with her rival Aishwarya Rai.She looks stunning and acts beautifully.Amrita Rao makes the grade with this film.And Zayed Khan is a revelation.The supporting cast also does not lag behind.Kirron Kher lives the role of the suffering mother. Naseeruddin Shah, Kabir Bedi,Suneil Shetty,Boman Irani,Satish Shah,Bindu all make an impact.

Javed Akhtar and Anu Malik make a great team.Every song is well-composed, well-arranged,well-orchestrated and well-written.The picture's tremendous repeat value comes largely from their efforts.Abbas Tyrewala once again proves after Munnabhai MBBS that he is no ordinary writer.

Farah Khan is also to be commended for giving the title of the movie in Urdu, thus broadening and expanding its reach.Henceforth every major Bollywood production should follow her lead.

Kal Ho Naa Ho the latest Karan Johar film is not as integrated and richly textured as his two previous efforts(Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham both of which were also directed by him). What makes it a cut above the average Indian movie is the contribution of individual artists.

Karan Johar has done at least three smart things. He has brought in Javed Akhtar as his lyricist,the team of Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy as his composers and above all signed Anil Mehta (who photographed Lagaan and Saathiya) as his cinematographer. All three have done first rate work.

His regular, Shah Rukh Khan has not let him down either. Here he shines in the company of Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan.

Saif Ali Khan is a pleasure to watch. He repeatedly brings down the house with his comic timing.

The screenplay needed more work. The writing generally is not up to Karan Johar standard. It seems to me that the brilliant Karan Johar(No doubt about that) is spreading himself too thin.For his future productions, he should take writers like Javed Siddiqui or Gulrez Syed(currently working on Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal).

And he is a young man. He should not delegate directorial responsibilities to others, even if they are brilliant.

I saw Saathiya on December 20 at Naz8 Cinemas and again on December 25 at the same venue.I liked it even more the second time and intend to see it many more times on the big screen before I finally own the original DVD of the movie. Vivek Oberoi is a talent to watch.After his triumph in Company, he is superb here.Rani Mukerji as Suhani will greatly increase her fan following with this movie. A.R. Rahman and Anil Mehta who were also part of last year's Lagaan are once again magnificent. Shah Rukh Khan and Tabu make brief appearances in guest roles, but they leave an impact and make a great pair.Someone should cast them together in lead roles in a great future movie.Gulzar's dialogues are the best he has ever written. His lyrics may not be outstanding but serve the score well. Above all Shaad Ali in his first directorial effort has surpassed many veterans. His is the most assured debut since Farhan Akhtar's in Dil Chahta Hai.2002 will be remembered for two movies: Devdas and Saathiya.

I saw Devdas on opening night on July 12. I saw it again the next night and loved it even more. The movie just took my breath away. For its music alone I can see it any number of times. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's direction, Nitin Chandrakant Desai's sets, Binod Pradhan's cinematography are all first rate. Shahrukh Khan's performance is his career best and places him along side Dilip Kumar, as one of the greatest actors Bollywood has ever produced.Both Aishwarya Rai and Madhuri Dixit are dazzling beauties with equally impressive performances,especially their climactic dance number Dola Re Dola is unforgettable. Ismail Darbar has given a purely classical score which grows on you the more you listen to it. The new poet Nusrat Badr reminds you of Majrooh Sultanpuri. His command of Urdu and Hindi is just as awesome. At the boxoffice the picture will smash all records worldwide. In India alone it will cross 200 crores of rupees, far surpassing the last champion Hum Aapke Hain Koun! by a wide margin.Bharat Shah and Sanjay Leela Bhansali have taken the Indian film to a new level of excellence. India and the world must recognize them for their courage and dedication for taking the art of the cinema to such heights and sparing no effort and expense in the process.

This is the fifth consecutive hit of Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol pair. The other hits were Abbas-Mustan's Baazigar(1993),Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun(1994), Aditya Chopra's Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge(1995), Karan Johar's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(1998). All big hits. And this one, again by Karan Johar, is the biggest of them all.Its weekend gross in Enland is half a million pounds. It is number 3 on the top ten list, probably with the highest per theatre average.In the US the gross is above a million dollars and here too it has made the top ten list,probably again with the highest per screen average.No hype can do this for an Indian movie in the UK and US.The recent example is of Asoka, which had as much promotion behind it as this one yet failed miserably.This film,despite flaws, has genuine quality and merit and fully deserves this unprecedented success. People are already repeating it. My wife and I have already seen it twice and plan to see it many more times on the big screen . And it improves with repeated viewings.Because then you notice all the beautiful details.When the original DVD of the movie is released we will be amongst the first people to buy it.I urge all the big producers and directors in Bollywood to do whatever it takes to bring Shah Rukh and Kajol together in many more films. They are absolutely marvellous together. Not since Dilip Kumar and Madhubala have we seen a pair this good and magical in Bollywood films. This is not to say that Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol are the only factor going for K3G. There are plenty of other great attributes, especially Kiran Deohans' camera work and the choreography by Farah Khan. The title song by Lata Mangeskar and Suraj Hua Madhim sung by Sonu Nigam and alka Yagnik are major highlights.Good work Karan,keep it up.

I saw Lajja on opening night August 31,2001 at a theatre in nearby Diamond Bar. I was drawn to the movie by Rajkumar Santoshi's name, because generally he makes fairly good movies. Anu Malik's name as the composer was also an attraction. Rajkumar Santoshi did not disappoint me. He presented the subject in a fairly compelling way and did not deviate too much to accommodate "entertainment". Once again he did not use all the songs that featured on the film's audiocassette and CD, which will adversely affect the movie at the box-office.His father,P.L. Santoshi who was himself a famous lyricist before he became a film director, knew the importance of songs in an Indian movie. Rajkumar Santoshi, ever since his Ghayal became a hit without the support of music, has tended to ignore music and not give it the centrality it deserves in the Indian cultural context. He could not take advantage of even Nadeem- Shravan in Damini or of A.R. Rahman in his last movie Pukar. At least in the latter he took eminent lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri and also Javed Akhtar (for one number). Here he relies on overworked and mediocre Sameer.The music department(with even the theme song cut out), therefore,is nothing to write home about. Will someone urge him not to repeat the same mistake over and over again?

But despite these drawbacks, which are quite serious, the movie works because of its laudable theme, Rajkumar Santoshi's good direction and some good writing too. But here too one fails to understand why a good director of Santoshi's calibre should take upon himself the added burden of writing the screenplay and the dialogue. Bollywood has plenty of good writers who would be happy to work for a director like Santoshi.

Overall, it's a good movie.That's why I am giving it an 8 out of 10.

Now a word about the advertising.It is publicised as a movie with three heroes and three heroines whereas the story concerns only one pair played by Manisha Koirala and Jackie Shroff. The rest just come and go.It should have been advertised as just a Manisha Koirala-Jackie Shroff starrer. There should have been no mention of the other famous names who are just guest stars in the movie. Like Salman Khan was not mentioned in the advertising of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and that worked great for the movie.Lajja could have benefited tremendously from the presence of Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Rekha and Ajay Devgan if their names had not been advertised and the public discovered them for the first time in the theatre on opening night.

I saw Dil Chahta Hai on August 10(opening night) at a theatre in Diamond Bar which is about 20 miles north of here.The pull for me,obviously, was Aamir Khan, in my view the best actor India has produced since Dilip Kumar. I was also attracted by 27-year old Farhan Akhtar who is making his directorial debut with this film and his father Javed Akhtar(currently the best lyricist in Bollywood after the demise of the all-time greatest lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri) who has again come up with great lyrics in this film so soon after his recent triumph in Lagaan( I was already playing the songs from the movie in my car on the way to Diamond Bar).

Well, I found the movie very refreshing and original. I felt engaged throughout, though the level of involvement was not as intense as in Lagaan.But why am I comparing this movie with Lagaan?Just because Aamir Khan and Javed Akhtar are a part of it, some comparison is inevitable. Lagaan is a many-splendored,multi-layered classic while Dil Chahta Hai is an enjoyable, hugely entertaining movie.Both are very very different from each other.

And Akash of Dil Chahta Hai is very different from Bhuvan of Lagaan.Nobody can believe that both characters are played by one and the same Aamir. And therein lies the beauty of the film. The film, of course, works on many other levels but this is undoubtedly its most compelling element. With his new look and with this performance Aamir has added many years to his career at the top. In fact with this hit film he has joined the legendary Dilip Kumar and the great Amitabh Bachchan who also had two back to back hits in the same year. Dilip Kumar with Mughal-E-Azam and Kohinoor(for which he got the Best Actor award) in 1960 and Amitabh Bachchan with Deewar(He got the Best Actor award) and Sholay in 1975.And now Aamir with Lagaan and Dil Chahta Hai in this extraordinary year 2001.

It's a great high for someone who loves movies, music, poetry and the arts. My only regret is that Farhan did not give the title of the movie in the credit titles also in Urdu ,the language that makes these great movies possible in the first place.

I went to see Yaadein on opening night at a theatre in Diamond Bar.There was an unprecedented crowd at the box-office for a Bollywood movie. Despite my best effort I could not get a ticket and had to return home. This was a first for me in my 22 years in America that I had returned home without seeing a Bollywood movie on its opening night. I finally saw the movie on Sunday at the 5 p.m. show.

It was a disappointment in the sense that I expected a lot more from Subhash Ghai. Subhash Ghai has certainly let down his fans and admirers. But to suggest that it is a failure at the box-office would be totally wrong. Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan are brilliant. Anu Malik's score, despite poor lyrics by Anand Bakshi, is one of his best in recent times. At least four songs - the title number and three others - are going to be big hits.Another asset of the movie is its outstanding photography by Kabir Lal.

The movie has hit the top ten list in U.K. and is 19th in the US.Just in 3 days it has grossed approximately $645,000 from 59 theatres giving it one of the highest per theatre average. This is no mean achievement. To the best of my knowledge no other movie from Bollywood has reached this level of business in the US.

However, from this Ghai should not conclude that his critics are wrong and he is right.In future he should shun those product placements. And he should never, never write.Is it not enough that he is a great director? Why should he try to be a screenwriter and editor as well.This is arrogance of the worst kind and will prove to be his undoing if he persists in it. In Hollywood all great directors from Capra to Hitchcock to Spielberg have based their best work on solid scripts written by others. But I want to give Ghai example from India itself. Did Raj Kapoor ever write his scripts(It was always K.A.Abbas or one of the other established writers)? Did Guru Dutt ever write his scripts(It was always Abrar Alvi), Did the great Mehboob(It was Ali Raza or Wajahat Mirza or Agha Jani Kashmiri). In the all-time classic Mughal-E-Azam, Asif used as many as four writers - Kamal Amrohi, Wajahat Mirza,Aman and Ehsaan Rizvi.So there you are Mr. Ghai. To be a movie director is a great thing in itself. You don't need any other titles.

Besides, the Bombay film industry has great writers even today. Salim-Javed may not be writing scripts any more, but there is Javed Siddiqui who is equally good and with whom Mr.Ghai has collaborated very successfully in the past and can do so with greater success in the future.

Finally, as moviegoers we should all go to see Yaadein and enjoy the great performances of Kareena and Hrithik and the intoxicating music of Anu Malik.

I saw Lagaan at the Regal Multi-plex in Whittier, California on opening night on Friday June 15, 2001.I liked the movie so much that I went to see it again on Saturday and enjoyed it even more. The picture has tremendous repeat value. I can see this 3 hour plus movie any number of times. There is not a single boring moment in the movie. Apart from Aamir Khan's incredible performance, the greatest asset of the movie is A.R.Rahman's music. He is without doubt India's best composer today and in this movie he has touched new heights. He reminds you of Naushad at his best in films like Mother India and Gunga Jumna. All songs are going to be big hits, especially Asha Bhosle's number Radha Kaise Na Jale and Lata Mangeshkar's Paalanhaare. The lyrics by Javed Akhtar are extraordinary.They are simple yet rich in meaning and poetry.

In story, music and treatment Lagaan sets a new standard for Indian films. And it is an entirlely original piece of work which you cannot say for many movies these days.

I could write endlessly about this movie but I am constrained by space. I would only like to add that the subtitles in English are excellent and all the non- Urdu and non-Hindi knowing people can enjoy it just as much. In fact, anyone who loves movies will love this one.