Released. The hoardings and promos of Subhash Ghai's Taal tells us
about the 21st century whereas in the film the dialogues are of the 18th and
19th centuries. The film is a musical bonanza with great music, excellent dances
and songs, and superb cinematography, but what it lacks is the soul. Once can
easily say that this is a film which has a beautiful, body but no soul. The film
is a love triangle inspired by Rangeela, Katputli and Mere Humsafar. There is no novelty in the film. It does not
have that pain which touches the audience's heart. Made on a big canvas, however
Taal has been presented very stylishly technically.
It is a story of three characters -- Manav (Akshaye
Khanna), Vikrant (Anil Kapoor) and Mansi (Aishwarya Rai), who is the central
character. Mansi, daughter of folk singer Tarababu (Alok Nath), stays in Chambal
(in Himachal Pradesh). An NRI millionaire Manav comes to Chambal and falls is
love with the mesmerising beauty of Chambal and Mansi. Mansi also reciprocates
Manav's love. However their love is not accepted by Manav's uncle and aunt.
Mansi is heart-broken when Manav's relatives insult her
and her father. Hurt and perturbed, Mansi decides to become a star singer when
Vikrant approaches her. Vikrant is the owner of a big music company and believes
in the thoughts of the 21st century. Vikrant also falls in love with Mansi.
Mansi becomes a top international star.
When Vikrant proposes to Mansi, she accepts. Then back
comes Manav to claim his love. Mansi has to now decide whom to go with.
Huge sets, excellently choreographed dances, AR
Rehman's music, exotic locales captured by the cameraman Kabir Lal are the
highlights of the film. Performance-wise no one has given an award winning
performance except for Anil Kapoor. He is a treat to watch in his short but
lively and vibrant role. His was the best character in the film. Though the role
demanded him to be loud, he has performed excellently. It is Akshaye Khanna's
bad luck that Manav's character was very weak. However Akshaye tries his best to
come out of the weak characterisation. About Aishwarya Rai, there are no two
opinions about her divine beauty. She dances like a dream but what she lacks is
the innocence and the pain which Mansi's character required.
The biggest drawback of the film is that it lacks pacy
and crisp screenplay. It does not have that depth of emotions which is a must in
a love story. However no one can deny that the film is made on a grand scale and
made very stylishly.
Rating: Fair + 1/2
Trishakti
Starring: Arshad Warsi, Sharad Kapoor, Milind Gunaji,
Radhika, Ashish Vidyarthi, Govind Namdeo, Himani Shivpuri, Anil Nagrath &
Sadashiv Amrapurkar
Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Music: Rajesh Roshan
Released. The is the debut film of director Madhur
Bhandarkar. However there is no newness in the film. It is a drama of crime,
revenge and violence.
There are two rival gang leaders -- Rajeshwar (Ashish
Vidhyarthi) and Hasan (Govind Namdeo). Then, there are three friends Bajrang
(Milind Gunaji), Munna (Sharad Kapoor) and Sagar (Arshad Warsi). All three join
the crime wagon. Police take advantage of the fights between the two gangs. The
film is a hotch potch of many films. None of the stars shine in the film. Music
is poor. Every department of the film is poor. A film worth NOT watching.
Rating: Poor
Captain Bhavani
Starring: Vijayashanti
Director: Kodi Ramakrishna
Music: Vandemateram
Released. It is a dubbed version of Telugu film Bharat
Ratna. The theme of the film is patriotism. Lady army officer (Vijayashanti)
loses her legs on the war front but still wants to fight for her nation. Her
husband is a police inspector. When he finds his wife's look-alike, he sends her
on the war front instead of his wife. Vijayashanti is good in a double role.
Other stars give able support.
Rating: Fair
Pyaar Koi Khel Nahin
Starring: Sunny Deol, Mahima Choudhary, Apoorva
Agnihotri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Aloknath, Dalip Tahil, Mohnish Behl, Navnit
Nishan & Bindu
Director: Subhash Saigal
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Released. The title of the film Pyar Koi Khel Nahin
means that love is not a fun game. But the director of the film Subhash Sehgal
should also understand that film-making is also not a fun game. One has to take
film-making seriously to give the best to the audience. The film is a love
triangular and has been inspired by Deewana. After action director Veeru Devgan
turning to director, it is the film editor turning into director and both of
them made bad films.
Sunil (Apurva Agnihotri) and Nisha (Mahima Chaudhary)
fall in love with each other at first sight. (It was very surprising to find
Apurva falling for Mahim when she was so badly dressed!). Sunil's elder brother
Anand (Sunny Deol) does not have any time for love and marriage. He runs a soft
drink company. But Anand also falls for Nisha who is working in his office.
Now Anand's family chooses Nisha for Anand. When Sunil
comes to know that Anand also loves Nisha, he tells no to Nisha. But finally it
is Anand who sacrifices his love when he comes to know about Sunil and Nisha and
get both of them married.
Now for more twists. Sunil is killed in an accident and
Nisha is pregnant. With family pressure that it is difficult for a child to grow
up without a father and to stay single, Nisha is married to Anand. Again to make
for more complications, Sunil comes alive on the Karva Chauth day. Poor Nisha is
now confused to whom to go with. There are some villains also in the film.
Sunny Deol looks very confused in this role. But he is
the only watchable person in the film. Mahima Chaudhary is good in emotional
scenes. But she needs to have to think on her gawdy getup. It needs a drastic
change. Apurva Agnihotri does not impress at all. Music is average except the
song by Falgni Pathak Yaad Piya Ki Aane Lagi.
Rating: Poor
Hindustan Ki Kasam
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Manisha
Koirala, Sushmita Sen, Prem Chopra, Shakti Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Shahbaz Khan
and Kader Khan
Director: Veeru Devgan
Music: Sukhwindar Singh
Released. It is but obvious that one expects a good
film when there are 4-5 contenders to take the credit of the story of the film.
However the film turns out to be a total mess. None of the writers would like to
take credit now. Action director-turned-director with this film, Veeru Devgan
has not been able to handle and direct a complete film.
Ajay Malhotra (Ajay Devgan) is a thriller writer. In
his childhood, his twin brother is separated by Jabbar (Gulshan Grover) and sent
him to Pakistan to be raised in a terrorist camp. The other brother grows up to
be Touhid (Ajay Devgan) and is involved in terrorist activities.
Whatever Touhid is doing comes in Ajay's dream and then
he writes them in his novel. Touhid is supposed to assassinate the Pak Prime
Minister in India, so that the blame comes on India and then the Pakis can
declare the war. Ajay is suspected for Touhid's activities and is arrested.
In the film, there is one character Kabeera (Amitabh
Bachchan) who loses his arm in the war and comes up on the screen every few
minutes and gives lectures on patriotism. Ajay is in love with Priya (Sushmita
Sen) who comes to India after winning the Miss Universe crown. The other lady
Roshanara (Manisha Koiral) who is a cabaret dancer is in love with Touhid
inspite of him saying that he is a terrorist.
National Award winner Ajay Devgan is not very effective
in the double role. Maybe, this is because of poor scripting and no strong
characterisation. Sushmita Sen and Manisha Koirala are not very impressive. It
is sad to see a good actor like Amitabh in such a bad role. However his voice is
still mesmerising though his lectures tend to get boring after some time.
Another so-called highlight of the film is the aerial stunt.
Veeru Devgan has failed miserably in the direction
field. Music by Sukhwindar Singh is also a big let-down. The only things to
remember in the film may be are the song Tera Jalwa and Amitabh's voice.
Rating: Poor
Dada
Starring: Mithuan Chakraborty, Swati, Rammi Reddy,
Arjun, Dalip Tahil, Ishrat Ali and Deepak Shirke
Released. It is a revenge drama. It is the story of a
cop humiliated by his superior and who decides to become rich. Soon he becomes a
don and then takes revenge on his superior. Mithun has done a fair job. It is a
little better film than Mithun's previous releases.
Rating: Poor
Mann
Starring: Aamir Khan, Manisha Koirala
Director: Indra Kumar
Music: Sanjeev-Darshan
Released. Mann is a dishonest adaption of Hollywood's
romantic hit An Affair To Remember. Director Indra Kumar always claims that
there were many faults in all his previous hits like Dil, Beta, Raja and Ishq
and that in Mann he has made an attempt to rectify all his mistakes and tried to
do something different as said in the byline of the film -- Listen to your
Heart. But, alas, again the same mistakes are repeated -- the film is stretched,
and has unwanted emotions, unbelievable scenes, stupid comedy..... However Lady
Luck has always been with Indra Kumar so even a bad film of his is a hit. So one
cannot say anything about Mann.
Dev Karan Singh (Aamir Khan) is a Casanova always
flirting with new girls. He is engaged to a millionaire's daughter (Deepti
Bhatnagar). On his trip to Singapore by ship, Dev meets Priya (Manisha Koirala).
As usual he tries to play pranks on her. In all his pranks, Priya could sense
the good qualities of Dev. Priya is also engaged to her mentor Raj (Anil
Kapoor).
With a few incidents of the ship, Priya and Dev become
friends and then the friendship develops into true love. Dev also takes Priya to
meet his grandmother (Sharmila Tagore), where Priya finds that our hero is also
a very good painter. Now, Dev decides to reform and both of them decide to give
each other 6 months time to break their previous engagement and then get married
to each other. They decide to meet at Gateway of India after six months. Dev
loses all his money when he breaks his engagement. But Dev once again becomes
rich by his paintings (unbelievable a painter can become so rich in such a short
period of time). On the decided day Priya fails to come because of her
disability. Then, after some long emotional and melodrama scenes, true love
unites.
What is worth a praise in this film is Aamir Khan's
high spirited performance. he is truly a great star. He just gets into role. If
Aamir was out of this film the film was not even worth mentioning. Surprisingly,
one finds a calibre actress like Manisha Koirala so inconsistent in this film
(performance-wise as well as looks-wise). In many scenes, she looks so jaded and
in comedy she does not impress that much. However she holds an upper hand in
emotional scene. She is very good in those scenes without make-up. Anil Kapoor
is likeable in a small role. Sharmila Tagore is good but her getup is very bad.
Debutant music directors Sanjeev-Darshan (Shravan's
sons) have done an excellent job. They have some churned out some very melodious
songs. Director Indra Kumar said that the film is very emotional but there are
hardly any which touch you.
Rating: Fair
Benaam
Starring: Mithuan Chakraborty, Aditya Panscholi, Payal
Malhotra, Kiran Kumar, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harish Patel and Johny Lever
Released. It is a revenge drama. The hero's (Mithun
Chakraborty) sister (Smriti Patkar) is gang-raped and killed and then the hero
takes the revenge and kills all the rapists. There is lot of action and some
unwanted songs and dances. Mithun is his usual. Rest of the cast has done their
job.
Rating: Poor
Haseena Maan Jaayegi
Starring: Govinda, Karisma, Sanjay Dutt, Pooja Bhatra
Director: David Dhawan
Released. The film is in line with director David
Dhawan's previous films where the audience has to leave their brains behind and
go and watch the film. Whatever may be the quality of the film, David
Dhawan-directed films with Govinda's comedy tactics do draw a good initial. The
film has been inspired by Kishor Kumar-starrer Pyar Kiye Ja and Shammi Kapoor
starrer Professor.
A miserly millionaire (Kader Khan) has two sons Sonu
(Sanjay Dutt) and Manu (Govinda). The only thing these two good-for-nothing sons
do is to make a fool of their father and take money from him. To solve the
problem, the father separates the two sons. He sends Sonu to Goa and gives Manu
the responsibility of the office. In Goa, Sonu tries to woo Pooja (Pooja Batra),
daughter of a rich man (Anupam Kher). On the other hand Manu falls in love with
Ritu (Karisma Kapoor). Pooja and Ritu are sisters.
To fix Sonu's marriage with Pooja, Manu disguises
himself as Sonu's uncle. To add another twist Pooja-Ritu's aunt (Aruna Irani)
falls in love with the uncle. Now Manu has to play a dual role of Ritu's lover
and Sonu's uncle.
Then comes Sonu-Manu's father and as expected
everything ends well. There is also a villain (Ashish Vidyarthi) in the film. As
expected David Dhawan has many light moments. Many of them are senseless and
some are repetitive.
It is once again Govinda who steals the show. He has a
perfect timing for comedy. Sanjay Dutt tries to match that same pace, but is not
so successful. Karisma Kapoor and Pooja Batra are only there to dress well and
sing some stupid songs with our heroes. In fact, Aruna Irani is much better than
the heroines.
Rating: Fair
Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi
Starring: Rinke Khanna, Dino Morea, Sanjay Suri
Director: Raj Kaushal
Released. Hyped as a film for youth, it has hardly
anything to inspire the youths. The film which got a lot of publicity right from
the time of its launch turns out to be a damp squib. One just can't say that
this is because this film is director Raj Kaushal's directorial debut. Before
also, many directors have proved their worth in their debut venture.
The film is based on a college campus (the youths have
seen lots of college campuses presented in much better ways in TV serials and
some other films). The college is National Institute of Performing Arts. The
story starts with a bunch of eight students, of which Sidhant alias Sid (Dino
Moreo) and Bhargava alias Bugs (Sanjay Suri) are the main characters. The
settings show that they want to be a musicians.
Then enters a new bubbly girl Kushi (Rinkie Khanna).
She joins Sid's and Bug's group. Kushi falls in love with Sid. Bug becomes the
silent lover of Kushi. However Sid is after an International Pop star Roxy. When
Kushi comes to know about this she walks out of Sid's life. Sid realises his
mistake and wants Kushi back. Now it is Bugs turn to reunite the two lovers.
Towards the end the director has also added the twist of AIDS and, yes, also
something about Kushi's family.
The film has newcomers in all the departments of film
making. However none of them impresses a lot. Some are average and some are
quite poor. Of the star cast, Rinkie Khanna looks bubbly and chubby. She does
not look to be a glamour doll (but then who knows about the future). She has
done a fair job but still needs to go a long way to match the talents of her
parents (Dimple Kapadia and Rajesh Khanna). Dino Moreo has tremendous screen
presence. Sanjay Suri has gives a restrained performance.
The highlight of the film is a song Musu Musu sung by
Shaan. But one song is not enough for the audience to go through a two-hour
boring film.
Rating: Poor
Terrorist
Starring: Ayesh Dharker
Director: Santosh Sivan
Released. It is a dubbed film. Though the name might
lead us to think that the film is on terrorism, it is actually based on the
psychology of a terrorist. A small budget film by the cinematographer-director
Santosh Sivan, it is different from the senseless masala films. The film is
inspired by the assassination of Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. However the
film progresses at a very slow pace.
The central character of the film is Malli (Ayesha
Dharker). Terrorism is her mission, religion and the ultimate goal of her life.
She is very proud when she gets a suicide assignment to kill one of the
political leaders. Before the killing, Malli comes to know that she is pregnant.
Here is where she starts thinking about the other aspects of life. Now she is
even scared to press the button of the bomb. The last scene of the film is a big
question mark which makes a person sit back and think.
The heart of the film is the splendid performance by
Ayesha Dharker and the excellent cinematography by Santosh Sivan. Ayesha has put
her heart and soul in the role. Though the film is not a perfect piece, it is
worth a watch.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
Starring: Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Aishwarya Rai
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Music: Ismail Darbar
Released. Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke
Sanam is inspired by Woh Saat Din, Kasak and Pyar To Hona Hi Tha. The rituals
and festivals in the film are inspired by Hum Aapke Hai Koun and the
wish-made-upon-falling-star from Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The director has flooded
the film with colours and festivities. The first half of the film is full of
colours and ethnic dresses. Sanjay has reaffirmed his position after Khamoshi as
a sensitive director and an imaginative technician.
The film starts with a family in Gujarat. A well-known
classical singer (Vikram Ghokhale) has a very big house with a very big family.
All the women in the family wear very colourful dresses and the house is always
lightened by ceremonies and dances. Then comes Sameer Rosselini (Salman Khan)
from Italy (half-Indian origin) to learn Indian music. As expected, Sameer gets
attracted towards his guru's daughter Nandini (Aishwarya Rai). Both fall in love
with each other. Then there are some colourful songs and dances.
Alas their love is not accepted by Nandini's father. He
asks Sameer in gurudaksina that Sameer should never see Nandini's face again.
Dejected Sameer gives the promise and returns to Italy. Nandini is married to
Vanraj (Ajay Devgan) who is a lawyer against her wishes. After marriage Nandini
does not accept Vanraj as her husband and tries to be away from him. When Vanraj
comes to know about the truth of Nandini and Sameer, he is hurt. But then he
decides to reunite the two lovers.
Vanraj takes Nandini to Italy and then starts the
search of Sameer in Italy (as Nandini does not know the address). Few incidents
get Nandini closer to Vanraj. By the time Sameer is found, Nandini is already in
love with her husband.
All the three lead stars have given excellent
performances. Salman Khan as usual is excellent in comic scenes. He is very
likeable and cute in this type of role. Aishwarya Rai looks gorgeous and this
times she even attracts attention for her acting. She is good in emotional
scenes. For the first time, she is able to prove her acting abilities. But
finally it is Ajay Devgan who steals the show. He is a first rate actor; so
intense are his looks that half the time his eyes speak more than the words. He
is just excellent.
The first half of the film just splashes colours, songs
and dances all over, the second half is intense. Sanjay has handled emotions
very well. The new music director has given very hummable music especially
Aankhon Ki Ghustakiya and Dhol Baje. However the biggest drawback of the film is
its length. The 23-reel film becomes too much for the audience at times as the
story is too small. However, it is a delight to watch made straight from the
heart.
Rating: Good
Nyaydaata
Starring: Dharmendra, Jayaprada, Tinnu Anand, Asrani,
Tiku Talsania, Kader Khan
Director: Vicky Ranawat
Released. It is another routine drama about the hero's
fights against corruption and crime. An honest police officer's (Dharmendra) son
is killed by mafia. The mafia has a great helping hand through the police
department. Then the hero takes revenge against all the corrupt officers and the
mafia.
Dharmendra now looks very old and tired. He does his
role half-heartedly. Jaya Prada plays the role of Dharmendra's wife. She still
manages to look beautiful. Other departments of the film are poor.
Rating: Poor
Anyay Hi Anyay
Starring: Madan Jain, Reshma Singh, Archana Puransingh
Director: Tarun Wadhwa
Music: R.D. Burman
Released. The story is how the law cannot help the
common man against the injustice done on him. And that there is corruption in
all the department and at all the levels. Amar (Madan Jain) is very honest but
it is his honesty which comes in his way of getting a job. Later he is
implicated in a crime and sent to jail. When he is released from jail , he once
again decides to lead a honest life. But in this world, honesty does not pay.
His girlfriend Neha (Reshma Singh) is gang-raped. Now the hero takes the law in
his hand and kills all the rapists. But before he is put behind the bars, one of
the rapist's father murders him.
Madan Jain has performed well. He had done this type of
role in the super-hit Ankush. The whole fare is dull. Directions and technical
departments of the film are poor.
Rating: Poor
Sirf Tum
Starring: Sanjay Kapoor, Priya Gill
Director: Ahathian
Released. It is a love story but a little different
from the normal Hindi film love story. The film is a remake of the award-winning
Tamil film Kadhal Kottai. The film is also inspired by the Hiollywood film
You've Got Mail. The base of the film is love through letters.
Aarti (Priya Gill) who is staying with her sister loses
her purse and the degree certificates in the train. The lost property is found
by Deepak (Sanjay Kapoor) who stays in Kerala and he posts them to Aarti. Aarti
writes a letter of thanks to Deepak and then starts the chain of sending
letters. Just by communications through letter, they both fall in love without
seeing each other.
Later Deepak comes to Delhi (where Aarti stays) in
search for a job. They bump into each other many times but cannot recognise each
other. Deepak is also wooed by his boss Neha (Sushmita Sen). But when she comes
to know that Deepak loves Aarti she sacrifices her love. On the other hand Aarti
refuses the proposal put up a wealthy suitor (Salman Khan). Destiny does not
allow them to meet at many occasions. But finally true love triumps.
The story is good and new for Hindi cinema. But the
treatment and direction is very poor making an overall dull impact.
Sanjay Kapoor is okay. Priya Gill looks good in a
deglamorised role but leaves hardly any impact by her performance. Sushmita Sen
has nothing much to do excecpt one song Dilbar.... The music is good.
Rating: Poor
Safari
Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Juhi Chawla
Director: Jyotin Goel
Music: Shyam - Mohan
Released. Jyotin Goel's Safari was in the making for 6
long years. That is why the film has no proper continuity. The base is nature,
jungle -- influenced by Hollywood films Crocodile Dundee and African Queen.
Captain Kishan (Sanjay Dutt) stays in Manjari island.
There is Anjali (Juhi Chawla) who is sent to the island by her mother (Tanuja).
She wants to set up a factory in the jungle. As expected, after some incidents,
both fall in love with each other. Anjali returns back to the city where her
mother wants Anjali to get married to Shekhar (Mohnish Behl).
Our hero Kishan also comes to the city in search of his
love. He is helped by Anjali's father (Suresh Oberoi) to get back Anjali.
The fist half is in the jungle which is somewhat better
than the second half which is in Mumbai. There is nothing interesting in the
film which can glue the audience for three hours.
Sanjay Dutt cannot cope up with this badly written and
directed film. Juhi Chawla also looks very disinterested in the film. The music
is also poor.
Rating: Poor
Sooryavansham
Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Saundarya, Anupam Kher
Director: E.W. Satyanarayana
Music: Anu Malik
Released. This is mega star Amitabh Bachchan's best
comeback film. Finally, with his towering performance in Sooryavansham, he has
answered all his critics who had written about his retirement and who had also
questioned his acting capabilities. Such a superb performance which all Big B's
fans were waiting for. He has once again proved that he is the ultimate
superstar film industry has got and it is not possible for anyone to reach his
height (not even all the three Khans). The story is old and rural-based but
somehow the treatment is different (though not very great). EVV Satyanaryan's
Sooryavansham is already made in Tamil and Telugu with different starcast and
was a hit there.
Thakur Bhanu Pratap Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) is
respected by one and all in his village. He is the sole decision maker in the
village and no one dares his judgments. Thakur has a big family. However he
hates his youngest illiterate son Heera (Amitabh in double role) and just treats
him like an outcast. Heera is even rejected by his childhood lover Gowri
(Rachana Banerjee).
An educated Radha (Saundarya) gets attracted towards
Heera for his kind-hearted nature. Both Heera and Radha get married against the
wishes of Thakur. This is the first time when Heera opposes his father and
leaves the house with his wife Radha.
A few years from then with the help of Radha, Heera
gets both wealth and identity and Radha becomes an IAS officer. They also have a
son. Radha becomes a collector in that village. Inspite of everything, Heera's
love and affection for his father is the same. Then builds a bonding
relationship between the grandson and the grandfather and it is the grandson who
brings father and son together.
The story is old-fashioned and there is some overdose
comedy by Kader Khan and Anupam Kher and also some unwanted dance sequences.
Of the performance it is just Amitabh Bachchan. In the
younger role Amitabh does look old at times and looks a little awkward in the
song sequence. But his superb performance makes up for all these small things.
He has given excellent performances in the dual roles. He has played the roles
with so much depth and edge that sometimes you begin to doubt whether he is the
same Amitabh in two different roles. This is the quality of the big B which
makes him different from others. The role of Thakur is played with so much
dignity and he makes it more effective by his mesmerising voice. His acting
reminds you of the Amitabh of Trishul and Deewar. Saundarya may not fit in the
glamour role but has given good performance against Amitabh Bachchan. Jaya Sudha
plays the role of older Bachchan's wife. And yes one must give credit to Rekha
who has dubbed for the both the Bachchan's wives. Like Amitabh's different role,
Rekha's voice for both the heroines is different. Music is slow but gets on
after hearing.
The film may not have anything great but deserves a
good rating simply for the award-winning performance by Amitabh Bachchan. A
performance worth watching by all his fans and a performance worth discussing
for a longer period of time.
Rating: Good
Rajaji
Starring: Govinda, Raveena Tandon, Kader Khan, Satish
Kaushik
Director: Vimal Kumar
Music: Anand-Milind
Released. It seems Govinda is now short of new comedy
lines and making faces.... as some of the producers who don't have any story
just make a film with Govinda, king of comedy, thinking their work is over and
Govinda will do the rest. Actually Govinda now needs a break from these types of
stereotype roles like in Aunty No 1, Dulhe Raja, Anari No 1 and now Rajaji.
Rajaji (Govinda) is an illiterate, good-for-nothing and
pampered by his mother (Aruna Irani) and his uncle (Satish Kaushik). Raja thinks
only way to escape his father's (Kader Khan) taunts is to marry a rich girl. He
comes to Mumbai and gets married to Payal (Raveena Tandon) thinking she is a
millionaire's daughter. But tables turn when he comes to know that Payal is a
gardener's (Mohan Joshi) daughter at a millionaire's (Shakti Kapoor) bungalow.
Drunkard Rajaji leaves Payal later only to realise his
mistake. He goes back to Payal but this time she refuses to accept him. She has
become a millionaire as her father gets a 10 crore lottery. Rest of the film is
how Rajaji tries to woo his wife and finally the couple reunite is the end of
the film.
There are some really ridiculous scenes in the film
like the couple celebrating the wedding night in the stable where the buffaloes
have coloured horns just like Govinda's colourful clothes. The basic story is so
weak that there is hardly any thread which keeps together the film.
Of the star cast Govinda is good in doing these types
of roles. But he is becoming too repetitive and before the audience get bored of
him he should stop doing so many numbers. Raveena Tandon as usual only has too
to look beautiful and do the same type of dances. The other stars also have to
perform what they done earlier. This is a typical Govinda film and only a
diehard Govinda fan can enjoy this film.
Rating: Fair
Kartoos
Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala,
Gulshan Grover, Jaspal Bhatti, Asrani, Tina and Kamal Chopra
Director: Mahesh Bhatt
Music: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Anu Mailk, Bali Sagoo
Released. This is Mahesh Bhatt's last film as director.
But sad that he has made a very mediocre film. The film is inspired by many
Hollywood and Bollywood films. The basic element of using a criminal to finish
off the other criminals by the police officer has been used in many films.
Underworld don Jagat Jogia (Gulshan Grover) handles all
the terrorist activities in India from England. Indian police cannot do anything
from here. Inspector Jai Suryavanshi (Jackie Shroff), to finish off Jogia, takes
help from a hardcore criminal Jeet Balraj (Sanjay Dutt). Jai helps Jeet to elope
from the prison and sends him to London to trace Jogia (just like in the
Hollywood film The Rock). Jai has decided that when Jeet finishes his mission he
will shoot Jeet. Jai warns Jeet not to fall in love, but our hero falls for Mini
(Manisha Koirala). Then Jeet has a change of heart and wants to live a decent
life.
The direction is average. Music in this film is given
by three music directors -- Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Anu Malik and Bally Sagoo.
But the songs are not so great.
Of the stars Sanjay Dutt has done a decent job. He has
tremendous screen presence. Jackie Shroff is okay. It is sad to see an actress
like Manisha Koirala in this type of role. She just cannot make up her mind
whether she has to behave like Sridevi or be herself. A film with good star cast
but no proper screenplay.
Rating: Fair
Sangharsh
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Preety Zinta
Director: Tanuja Chandra
Music: Jatin Lalit
Releasing Soon
THIS THE LATEST POSITION AND BOX OFFICE REVIEWS OF HINDI MOVIES
Latest Postion
Two big films with big banners, big directors and big stars released
simultaneously -- Subhash Ghai's Taal and Mehul Kumar's Kohraam.
Taal had the touch of showman's Subhash Ghai and great music by AR Rehman
whereas Kohraam had two great actors Amitabh Bachchan and Nana Patekar
pitched together. Both the films got bumper openings. However the long-term
running of both the films is doubtful as they do not have great stories and none
of the film is touching.
Small budget film Trishakti
is a flop everywhere. Now Arshad Warsi and
Sharad Kapoor will have to do something to be in this film industry otherwise
they are out of it. The first week's collections of the film were 45% in Mumbai
(from 11 cinemas) and 30% in Delhi (from 6 cinemas).
Captain Bhavani, a dubbed film, also is a flop. The
first week's collections of the film were 44% in Mumbai (from 4 cinemas).
Subhash Sehgal's Pyar Koi Khel Nahin is a big flop. The second week's
collections of the film are disastrous. The distributors are going to lose their
money. However the debacle of this film has not affected Sunny Deol's career as
he has Arjun Pandit co-starring Juhi Chawla releasing this week. And the
pre-release report of this film is very good. Mahima Chaudhary also has another
film due for release Dil Kya Kare starring current top stars Ajay Devgan
and Kajol. But it was the last hope for Apoorva Agnihotri. The second week's
collections of the film were 39% in Mumbai (from 10 cinemas).
Mithun Chakraborty's film Dada has surprised everyone. The film is
doing good business in Northern India and will prove profitable to its
distributors.
Veeru Devgan's Hindustan Ki Kasam will not be a total loss to its
distributors. In many circuits it will be able to fetch the price. The main
reason is an excellent opening to the film. The third week's collections of the
film were 43% in Mumbai (from 9 cinemas). Indar Kumar's Mann did a
business of 55% in Mumbai (from 2 cinemas) and Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum
Dil De Chuke Sanam is still going very strong in Mumbai and Gujarat. The
eighth week's collections of the film were 68% in Mumbai (from 11
cinemas).