Rahul Dholakia’s ‘Lamhaa’ is an ambitious attempt, trying to bring to fore the multifaceted conundrum that the Kashmir crisis is. For the most part it is quite a realistic depiction of the various issues that plague Kashmir. The film, probably deliberately, is more like a documentary than a cohesive narrative that unfolds to tell a compelling story.
Kashmiriyat, the catalytic role that ISI plays in the valley, the vested interests of the Indian and Pakistani governments in keeping the issue alive, the plight of Kashmiri pandits, the atrocities by the security personnel, the trials suffered by the widows and orphans caught in the midst of all this and foremost, the systematic brainwashing of young and vulnerable minds to join the ‘holy’ Jehad – Dholakia attempts to address all these issues in this film. Given that Kashmir cannot be understood from a limited perspective and any portrayal of this contentious issue needs a holistic approach, Dholakia fails to provide a comprehensive narrative.
It’s a persuasive tale, how the issue of Kashmir has become more of a business proposition and a story of political one-upmanship for those in power. Caught in the crossfire of political rhetoric and unabated militancy are ordinary lives struggling to come out of the shadow of terror. But somewhere it falls short of becoming that one defining film on Kashmir that tells a complete untold story.
The cast doesn’t disappoint with Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Anupam Kher delivering their parts with conviction. Kunal Kapoor is decent except his attempted fiery and provocative speeches that fall flat and sound totally unconvincing and filmy. Some characters with their frightening beards seem like lame stereotypes that we could have done without.
The songs are just thrown in without any attempt to weave it into the narrative. The experimentation with the camera movements and editing didn’t quite seem to have the desired effect; in fact, I found it quite disconcerting initially.
To give him his due, it’s a commendable effort but the climax doesn’t quite pay off. Like I said, in his attempt to address varied issues at the same time, the plot doesn’t quite tie in everything with together at the end. I was left wanting for more and looking for some kind of closure while I watched the end credits on screen.
Before I even begin to vent what an ordeal this movie watching experience was, I think it would be an excellent business proposition for multiplexes to have a pharmacy just next to the popcorn counter.
Coming to the film now, ‘Milenge Milenge’ looks like a film from the late ‘80s, ‘90s; given that it was five years in the making, the film is the most ridiculous, corny and unbelievable love story that you can come across. Why would anyone in their right mind want to even be a part of a film like this makes me question their sanity?
Basic premise: Kareena is a typical traditional “Indian girl” whose only aspiration in life is to get married, have children and see her husband off to work everyday. Her only condition a) He shouldn’t smoke b) He shouldn’t drink and c) He should never lie. After a tarot card reader tells her that she will meet her dream man on foreign shores, near a water body, at 7 o’clock in the morning, wearing multi-colored (exactly seven) clothes, Kareena waits for the prophecy to come true.
And believe it or not, as ‘destiny’ would have it and with a little bit of manipulation (from the hero, who falls in love with her the moment he sees her ephemeral sleeping face in the moonlight), she finds her Prince Charming playing the guitar on the seashore precisely at 7 am in the morning, wearing exactly what he is supposed to.
So where’s the conflict in the plot? Shahid, who looks like he hasn’t even grown facial hair yet, smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish and doesn’t even blink an eyelid before lying. It doesn’t take too long for then-not-size-zero Bebo to know that her Mr. Right is obviously all wrong but our hero is a changed man by then. She has none of it and in her bid to ‘test’ destiny, she figures out the most bizarre plot-contraptions possible to verify whether they are actually made for each other.
Post interval, we are suddenly fast forwarded to 3 years later, I don’t know if I missed a subtitle that said so but we are somehow informed about the elapsed time. By now, Bebo is engaged to marry this most frightening looking man and Shahid’s very loving father has announced his engagement to Aarti Chhabria without the groom’s consent.
So here we have this implausible situation the lovers have to overcome. They were in love for all of five days, they haven’t as much as seen or heard from each other in three years and they decide to give their love one last chance just a week before they are supposed to marry their respective significant others. (By this time I wanted to actually beg my friend who had accompanied me to the theatre to strangle me to death).
There is nothing more to be said, except that in the three years that had passed, time had stood still and Bebo’s dirty golden tresses hadn’t even faded a shade. Till interval I couldn’t figure out what was Shahid’s name in the film; for some absurd reason he is called Immy.
I can’t recollect one dialogue, one moment from the film that was pleasant. The less said about Himesh Reshammiya’s pre-surgery nasal playback singing and music the better. The director, Satish Kaushik’s cameo and blatant pandering to Muslim viewers’ sentiments (a standard device in movies of the ‘80s) made me cringe.
I will run out of synonyms but I still wouldn’t be able to completely convey how predictable, clichéd and implausible the film is. The least Boney Kapoor could have done for the audience who willfully subjected themselves to the torture of watching this film, was to have a kiosk just outside the theatre that doled out free Disprins.
Posts
