Directors may deliver hit after hit after hit, but very few of them can follow up one brilliant movie after the other. Yash Chopra never made a flick as good as Lamhe and even the so called show man Subhash Ghai gave us a highly unforgettable 'Trimurti'. Similarly, in 1997, Priyadarshan brought us 'Virasat' - a movie that was simply superb. Unfortunately his latest offering though enjoyable, fails to make the impact 'Virasat' did. True to its title, Saat Rang Ke Sapne, is replete with grand, vibrant and colourful visuals but in the non-technical departments the film just fails to hit the spot - you git me?
The story begins with the idyllic family life of Bhanupratap (Anupam Kher), his sister Yashoda (Farida Jalal) and their employee Mahipal (Arvind Swamy) - who is treated like a brother by them. This hunky-dory state of affairs is only limited to the house. The village chief Rampyari, Yashoda's sister-in-law, hates Bhanupratap et al due to purani dushmani. (yeah that again).
Mahipal and Bhanupratap run into a dancer Jalima (Juhi Chawla) and her uncle (Satish Shah) - and Bhanu promptly falls in love with her, though we all know that the gorgeus Juhi would never fall for a man that was old enough to be her dad right? After a fight with some local goons, she ends up with Mahipal and they get lost in a jungle, and after a few songs and squabbles (the most entertaining part), they fall in love. When they find their way to Yashoda's house, they pretend to be sworn enemies. At the same time, Bhanu tells Yashoda he loves Jalima. But Jalima tells her she loves Mahipal. Whereby Yasoda tells Mahipal to sacrifice his love. Being the typical faithful servant he dumps Jalima. At the same time however Bhanu - after information from a cunning servant Paungal (Govind Namdeo) - throws Mahipal out of the house, accusing him of impregnating another servant Bhavri (Mink).
How this utter mess is sorted form the crux of the story.
Luckily, as in other good Priyadarshan movies the performances are really good. Arvind Swamy is perhaps the most under rated actor we have today - he delivers a convincing performance as the faithful servant. Anupam Kher is good though how his character becomes so merciless remains a mystery. Juhi Chawla looks beautiful as always, but there is no scene in the movie requiring her to display her talents. Though in no way related to the film's quality, to my dismay, the heroine vanishes for long time periods in the movie's second-half. And sadly the flick, though realistic in the second half becomes incredibly boring.
Nuff said about the negative factors. The song and dance sequences, are a treat to watch. Cinematography, as earlier mentioned, is colourful and absolutely breath-taking; one really wishes that the India tourist board would promote tourism in India's desert-filled regions.
Anyway strollin' into 'Saat Rang Ke Sapne', one should not expect Priyadarshan to surpass the perfection of 'Virasat'. In its own right, Saat Rang Ke Sapne is a nice, pleasant movie, with good performances and numerous memorable scenes.
Rating:
