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Reviews
Madhoshi (2004)
A Beautiful Inspiration
It is said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. This must be why the Hindi film industry is known as Bollywood because it regularly turns towards Hollywood for inspiration. Is there any doubt that films such as Baazigar, Murder, Deewangee, Dharmatma and Chachi 420, to name just a handful, are reminiscent, to put it kindly, of Hollywood favorites. But we must give credit where credit is due. You see Bollywood never copies a Hollywood movie straight up; it always adds it's own brand of 'masala' and 'gana bajana'. Madhoshi is no exception!
The creative team in this case took "A Beautiful Mind" - and a neat gimmick out of "Face/Off" - and transformed it into a darn good modern Bollywood saga that is entertaining with enough twists and turns to keep one interested from beginning to end. Bipasha Basu gives a good performance in the title role of Anupama with strong support from Priyanshu Chatterjee and John Abraham. The musical score is entertaining as well, especially the playback singing. Also, there is a reference to a recent catastrophic event that is ingenious in conception but amateurish in execution.
If you are looking for a Bollywood movie that is a bit out of the ordinary, Madhoshi is definitely a good pick. Now I'm just waiting for a Bollywood filmmaker to adopt "Scent of a Woman". If there was ever a Hollywood movie tailor made for Bollywoodization, this is it. I see Amitabh Bachchan in the title role. The only question is what car showroom he'll end up at. Hoowah!
PS - If "Scent of a Woman" has already been Bollywoodized, do let me know!
Dev (2004)
Humanity Against All Odds
On the surface, Dev is about the continual struggle of Muslims and Hindus to co-exist with each other in post 911 India. It highlights how narcissistic politicians play on naive constituents to create chaos, mayhem and oppression. Looking beneath the surface we can see that Dev is also about friendship and it's boundaries. It shows how two friends drift apart as one spirals towards madness brought on by shear hatred while the other finds redemption through forgiveness and tolerance. All things considered, perhaps Dev is most about how a man matures in the most adverse conditions inspired by the the woman he loves and the courage she displays.
Amitabh Bachchan gives a tour-de-force performance as Dev reminding us once again that he is in a class by himself. The rest of the cast including Fardeen Khan, Om Puri, Rati Agnihotri and Amrish Puri perform more than capably but special mention must be made of the performance turned in by Kareena Kapoor who continues to show great range. Simply put, she has IT! There are only a couple of songs, which are more background fodder than anything else. In the end, Dev is about what it means to be a human being against all odds.
Om Jai Jagadish (2002)
Good Solid Bollywood Family Melodrama
This movie represents traditional Bollywood themes of family, integrity, perseverance, redemption and above all the power of love. It shows how these values are tested through trials and tribulations of modern society and changing family dynamics. This subject matter has been shown in different variations countless times over so in order to make it work an established cast and strong performances are essential. Anupam Kher has done well to cast Anil Kapoor as the family patriarch supported well by Fardeen Khan and especially Abhishek Bachchan who is maturing into a commanding screen presence in a similar fashion to his father before him. The most fleshed out female character is portrayed by Urmila Matondkar who plays the role well but this movie is about the maturation of the relationship between Om, Jai and Jagdish. The songs are above average at best. By no means is this a great movie but it is entertaining, good hearted and worth seeing.