An
ode to love. That is what the director
and the entire cast preferred to call
the movie even while it was being
shot. The movie, one of the biggest
‘coming together’ of star
power in Bollywood finally released
this weekend all over the country.
There is no one who wouldn’t
want to watch a sweet,
picture
perfect romance that leaves a smile on your face.
But when you are more inclined to yawn than smile,
then even love seems to be a bit of a drag.
Six love stories, seven something songs, three
and a half hours, 23 reels; talk of excess. Of
course, there is no doubt that the prospect of
getting to see six different love stories; right
from London to Udaipur was exciting. But, somewhere
things go wrong. Director Nikhil Advani who had
given us Kal Ho Naa Ho fails to impress in his
second outing.
Even
in Kal Ho Naa Ho, the climax, after the
eventuality had become only too evident
had tested one’s patience a bit. In
SEI, Nikhil shows that the artist in him
has only grown. The colors of the movie
are truly endearing. Scenes have been shot
beautifully supported by some very intelligent
cinematography. Even the trailers on TV
have enormous visual appeal. But it is in
the narration that the director fails. Maybe
it is only fair to tell that the director
underestimated the complexity of the task
at hand. He seems to have overloaded his
plate. Bringing six stories from varied
backgrounds, merging them into one happy
ending is something that can challenge even
Yash Chopra (master of romantic movies),
let alone Karan Johar.
The
cast, well one would need to write volumes to
sum up the performance of the cast. Not that the
performances have been mesmerizing, only that
there are none less than 12 lead actors and an
even larger number in support. Of the six, the
audience seems to be completely in love with the
John-Vidya Balan pair. Even the desi-foreign love
of Govinda and newcomer Shanon appears cute.
Among the others, the Salman-Priyanka pair doesn’t
actually seem to be head over heels in love with
each other. They give the impression of having
other priorities. The biggest disappointment however
is the Arbaas Khan-Isha Koppikar pair which comes
and goes without much of an impact. The Akshaye-Ayesha
pair passes muster and the Anil Kapoor-Juhi Chawla
pair stands out due to the unique angle of the
other woman that is thrown in.
The
Akshaye-Ayesha pair passes muster and the
Anil Kapoor-Juhi Chawla pair stands out
due to the unique angle of the other woman
that is thrown in.
The music is one major plus of the movie.
Almost all songs impress with the title
track standing out. The dialogues also must
be complimented. There is enough scope in
the movie for lengthy lectures on love and
everlasting commitment, but restraint has
been shown.
All in all, a movie that fails to live up
to what it had promised. The director had
the guts to take in a tough subject by its
horns, but better preparations, in terms
of scripting is called for.
When
asked about the movie a month or so earlier, Vidya
Balan had said that this was one movie that would
make everyone want to fall in love. But in the
end, one feels that the movie is going to appeal
only to those who already are madly in love. Good
efforts always don’t guarantee good results.
