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Deewaanapan
Directed
by: Ashu Trikha
Released: November 16, 2001
Starring Arjun Rampal, Diya Mirza, Vinod Khanna, Om Puri and
Smita Jaykar
Sooraj Saxena played by Arjun Rampal is a middle class guy who lives
in Dalhousie with his parents (Om Puri and Smita Jaykar). He meets
rich girl Kiran Choudhary (Diya Mirza) while she is visiting the
small town Sooraj lives in. You see where this is going right? I'll
try to keep this short.
So
everything is going fine until Kiran's father Ranvir Choudhary (Vinod
Khanna) disagrees with his daughter marrying someone who is middle
class. The usual happens here, there is embarrassment and disrespect.
Blah! All this eventually lands Sooraj's dad into prison. You see
how original this movie is right?
The
plot makes the movie suffer here. The performances are pretty decent
considering the plot again. Arjun Rampal does a good job and is
good at action sequences. Diya Mirza is really good as well and
she should get better pictures in the future. They make a good on-screen
couple for sure.
By now
you know this movie isn't anything original, so if you want to see
it, I would see it again just to see Arjun and Diya. Thats all its
worth.
Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar
Directed by: Tanuja Chandra
Released: November 16, 2001
Starring Amisha Patel, Jimmy Shergill, Nafisa Ali, Gulshan Grover
Sarena Dewan's (Amisha Patel) life is a dream come true. She has everything
a young girl can have. Money, looks, popularity - but it all comes
to an abrupt end when she finds out that she is adopted. Vivek Dawan
(Gulshan Grover) isn't her real father, from whom she gets all this
wealth and perfection. Jai (Jimmy Shergill) is the reported who breaks
this story and brings it to the public.
Sarena
then falling for Jai, has him join her in the search for her real
identity and mother. She meets her caretacker Namrata (Nafisa Ali)
and she tells Sarena of her true being. Meanwhile Vivek is doing
his best to stop her from finding out about her real mother. You
know how the rest goes.
The
film is predictable but it is still average. The acting is good,
Gulshan Grover plays another role here where he is impressive and
not the typical villian. Amisha and Jimmy are also good in there
roles. Amisha gives Kareena a good threat here and Jimmy proves
his acting skills. The plot is the only weak thing here and it does
hurt the movie.
The
movie again, isn't something that is really great, but I would watch
it if there was nothing else to do.
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham
Directed by: Karan Johar
Released: December 14, 2001
Starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Kajol,
Kareena Kapoor
There's something reassuringly reliable about Karan Johar's ability
to coax intense performances out of his all powerful casts. So throwing
together Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan, three
of the most phenomenal acts in Indian cinema should be a walk in the
park for this twenty-nine year old Bollywood whiz kid? Anything is
possible in Bollywood.
Kabhi
Khushi Kabhi Gham (known as K3G) is 'all about loving your parents'
says Karan Johar. It exemplifies the stern determination Indian
culture demands on the relationship between parents and children,
in particular father and son, and addresses the fundamental concept
of family within a traditional Indian household where egos collide
regularly and the stubbornness of elders can prove disaster for
all involved.
Performance
wise - Shah Rukh is the pick of the bunch, a awe inspiring performance
from a deadly performer, in Mohabbatein he was over awed by Amitabh
in certain scenes but in K3G his screen presence matched that of
Bachchan's and the magic that unfolded on screen was second to none.
Throw in Hrithik Roshan's sensitive portrayal as the youngest son
and the result is astounding. Three devastating performances from
three diverse actors belonging to three different generations is
a historic piece of direction. The female cast consisting of Jaya
Bachchan, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor, is another example of three
performers from three different generations coming together, Jaya
Bachchan is quietly dignified in her performance whilst Kajol is
at her best, with a refreshing role. Kareena also impresses with
a more than average performance.
Though
clearly K3G has moral points to make, the cast performances concocted
by Karan Johar, speak soundly as his Spielberg like direction continues
to impress masterfully.
Abhay
Directed by: Suresh Krishna
Released: November 16, 2001
Starring Kamal Hassan, Raveena Tandon, Milind Gunaji, Manisha
Koirala
Kamal Hassan wrote a novel about ten years ago titled "Dayam,"
from which the movie Abhay was adopted. Major Vijay Kumar (Kamal)
has a psychopathic twin named Abhay. The plot here is that Abhay is
out to kill Tejaswini (Tandon) because she reminds him of his evil
step-mother. The rest of the movie just dwells on this aspect of his
psych and we see different portions of his life (via flashback) and
why he has become this way.
Kamal
Hassan, as always, succeeds in impressing us with his performance.
Always fulfilling the requirements of his reputation, Kamal really
did a wonderful job making and acting in the film. Raveena Tandon
as Tejwaswini, also does a wonderful job in convincing us of her
character's role. Manisha Koirala makes an unneccessary special
appearance, her role is limited ofcourse.
Abhay
is different from all its predecessors in that it effectively shows
us the darker side of Abhay without commercializing it. Its very
gory come to think of it. Some might say it goes too far in getting
its point across, but I disagree. The point would not have been
made if it hadn't gone so far. The film is impressive and deserves
our attention since it is Kamal Hassan's honest work at hand.
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