Review: Hameshaa

Hameshaa
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Kajol, Aditya Pancholi
Directed by: Sanjay Gupta
Released: September 12, 1997

Childhood friends Raja (Ali Kha) and Yash (Pancholi) come from two very different back grounds. Yash is very wealthy, and Raja is poor. This, however, does not stop them from growing up thick as thieves and close as brothers. Hameshaa opens with them racing each other in what seems like a very dangerous setting. The friends, however, simply laugh it off and begin talking about who they would choose if they had to – each other, or the girl of their dreams. Enter Rani Sharma (Kajol), a beautiful young woman in a neela dupatta peela suit (arguably the best, most upbeat song from the movie despite the laughable choreography. But, hey, it was 90s Bollywood). Soon after, Yash too encounters Rani and is also completely in love with her beauty and charms and finds it impossible not to fall in love with her.

Both men are quick to find each other and express their hearts’ desires, neither of them realizing that they are in fact speaking about the same woman. When Yash, however, finds out that the woman he so desperately wants has given her heart to his best friend, he becomes… a tad bit unhinged. He poses to Raja the same question they discussed when we first saw them – friends or the perfect girl? Much to Rani’s horror, Yash pushes Raja over the edge of a cliff and she joins him despite earnest efforts from Yash.

Years later Yash is an older and bitter man living with his Dai Ma and as fate would have it, he stumbles upon Raju and Reshma – both bearing an uncanny resemblance to Raja and Rani respectively. Not about to lose what he considers to be the love of his life a second time, he begins working hard to keep the two of them apart. Does true love always prevail? Well, you’ll just have to find out!

I truly love how Kajol can look great with any – and I mean any – Khan. She and Shahrukh are one of if not the most popular and charismatic couple in the history of Indian cinema, their jodi bringing many fans young and old to the cinema to watch their magic unfold on screen. Then she acted with Salman Khan and proved to have chemistry with him as well in their small parts of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and the cute movie Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. And of course who could possibly forget the tangible love that she and Aamir Khan portrayed during Fanaa. That covers the three major Khans, right? Well this film proves that she and Saif are pure pyaar, even more than her and Shahrukh in the majority of their films together, in my opinion.

            

As far as their acting goes, Kajol does what she is famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) for and takes the emotion to the next level. Her expressions during songs are equally adorable and hilarious. The song Aisa Milan Kal Ho Na gives her a chance to prove just how sensual she can be. This film is nothing difficult and doesn’t require top notch acting and therefore natural talents such as Kajol and Saif Ali Khan pull it off with little effort on their parts. Aditya Pancholi is able to deliver a good performance as Yash, making you truly hate him and his villainous self increasingly throughout the film, while still making you feel somewhat bad for him as he too loved Rani and had her taken away from him. But in the end, I found it hard to root for anyone other than Raja and Rani, which of course is only right.

            

I would classify this film under my guilty pleasure category. It is not a perfect film, but it is decent. Classic 90s romance film and a good one time watch for most people. But because of the combination of beautiful settings, wonderful chemistry and a beautiful struggle for love, I enjoy this film much more than I probably should. Objectively, however, the rating really must be a simple:

Rating: 5/10

Review: Kurbaan

Kurbaan
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi
Released: 2009
Directed by: Rensil D'Silva

So we start out with Avantika Ahuja (Kapoor), a young professor working in Indian while simultaneously taking care of her father who has had medical issues. On her way to work one morning, she comes upon Ehsaan Khan (Khan) who is able to trick her into giving him her cab and therefore starts things off on a not so good note. When Avantika finally arrives at work she realizes that Ehsaan is also a professor there. He is intrigued by her and asks her out for a coffee. She initially rejects his advances but ends up being charmed by him all the same. After a short time of courting, they go to Avantika's father and ask permission to marry each other. Although her father is reluctant because he wants Avantika to marry another Hindu, he agrees and gives them his blessing.

Avantika and Ehsaan move to New York to work in the same university that Avantika worked in before she had to move to India to care for her father. Ehsaan is able to get a job teaching a course about Islam and the western world that many people take interest in. When Avantika and Ehsaan find their perfect home in an Indian neighborhood, Avantika is happy and content - that is until she meets the neighbors. She and Ehsaan are invited over to a dinner gathering and Avantika begins to see just how oppressed the women are by their husbands.

She doesn't think too much of it, however, until one of the women, Salma comes to her in a very distressed state. Avantika finds out that Salma is under house arrest by her husband and now fears for her life. Salma asks Avantika to contact her friend, a news reporter, for help. Avantika does this and learns that the reporter, Rihana - who is involved with Riyaz (Oberoi) will be traveling to the Middle East to deal with business but says that she will go to see Salma when she returns.

After the meeting with Rihana, Avantika goes to the doctor and discovers that she is pregnant. Happy, she goes home to wait for Ehsaan to come home so that she can tell him the happy news. While waiting, she hears noises from the neighbors house and when she goes to check it out, discovers not only Salma's dead body but also the neighbor's plan to bomb the flight Rihana is supposed to get on. Avantika runs but is heard and chased by the neighbors. She reaches her home and is convinced that she will be safe once she sees that Ehsaan is home, but little does she know... he is very much aware of what is going on and is more involved in it that she could have ever imagined.

When I sat down to watch Kurbaan, I thought it was going to be something like Gangster. In a way, it was, but it was also a lot different. I knew from the start that Ehsaan was going to end up being involved in the terrorist organization, but I thought he would be forced into it, not in it willingly. There were several parts in the movie that were terribly predictable, but there were also many times where I didn't see it coming. But sadly, as an altogether story, it wasn't all that amazing.

The one thing that is definitely worth seeing is the scene where Riyaz goes to visit Ehsaan's class and gives his speech about American's being terrorists as well. It sums up my feelings about the entire situation completely and thought that it was very well done.

And thank god for the acting. Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Vivek Oberoi were all above average. I was mostly impressed with Kareena. Not even a half hour into the movie, I was no longer seeing Kareena playing Avantika, I just saw Avantika. One thing that turned me off, however, was that she and Saif didn't have very good chemistry, especially in the beginning. He seemed to be more of a father figure to her than anything else and it was a total turn off to me. They didn't even look like they were married, on screen or off screen.

All in all, I would recommend this movie if you wanted a good, somewhat action filled time pass, but don't sit down to watch it expecting much.

Rating: 6/10