| Cast: |
Madhuri
Dixit, Shahrukh Khan, Salman, Khan. |
| Director: |
---- |
| Producer: |
--- |
Mix
a medium-sized dose of love with a big dash of suspicion.
Add to it several scoops
of friendship. Towards the end, add a few drops of
humour.
To
top it all, add a cherry in the form of Salman Khan.
What do you get? A cocktail intoxicating enough to
keep an audience captivated for three hours.
Let's start at the beginning.
For
some reason only known to Alok Nath, daughter (Aruna
Irani) walks out of her home along with her two kids
(Radha and Prashant). She brings up her two kids and
an adopted one (Suraj) on her own after her husband
dies. Nath, on the other hand, brings up two kids
(Gopal and Neeta) entrusted to his care by a deceased
friend.
Cut
to the present. The children have grown up. Nath suffers
a heart attack. Hearing the tragic news, Aruna rushes
with her daughter Radha (Madhuri Dixit), but is killed
in an accident before she reaches.
Motherless,
Radha and her doting Amitabh Bachchan fan brother
Prashant (Atul Agnihotri) are given shelter by their
grandfather. All this happens before you can blink
your eyes, but that is because they want to get on
with the story.
Alok
Nath tells one of the children Gopal (Shah Rukh Khan)
--- who has now grown into a successful businessman
--- that he has chosen his bride, Radha. Gopal agrees.
Without wasting much time to get to know each other
(they were childhood friends, after all), they are
bound by holy matrimony.
Trouble
starts from the day they marry. Gopal discovers his
innocent bride loves a lot of people. We would think
this is obvious since Radha has only known Gopal for
one-and-a-half days of her adult life (not counting
her childhood). Gopal is miffed.
Things
g
et
worse when Gopal meets Suraj (Salman Khan), Radha's
childhood friend, and discovers they share a strong
bond. Gopal's suspicion builds as he catches his wife
having conversations with Suraj once too often. Five
calls a day, he counts. She also calls Suraj when
she needs a friend to talk to. And he comes over whenever
he is bored.
Gopal
soon gets obsessed to the point of not thinking straight.
He starts imagining things. He accuses Prashant of
stealing and slaps his sister Neeta (Suman Ranganathan)
in his rage. Radha, meanwhile, is blissfully unaware
of the fact that her husband needs a little more attention
than Suraj.
Is
Gopal overreacting? Is Suraj being too friendly with
Radha? Is Radha ignoring her husband and his needs?
The
premise of the film is simple. Jealousy. If you discount
the fact the 'falling in love' was instant (but when
is it not?), the topic is quite interesting. Haven't
we all at some point read too much into situations,
overreacted, undergone pangs of jealousy that seem
downright silly later?
Unfortunately, Gopal is unable to deal with his doubts
and starts alienating Radha. She cannot understand
his mood swings and temper. The dam bursts. He cannot
take it any longer and confesses that he does not
like his wife's continuing friendship with Suraj and
her obvious affection and preference for him.
One
does feel sorry for Gopal who looks like someone who
needs a hug. Shah Rukh Khan does a good job and thankfully
does not go overboard. He does well in the simple
scenes that require subtle nuances --- like objecting
to phone interruptions, packing his father off to
a pilgrimage or getting annoyed when Suraj calls and
disturbs a husband-wife moment.
He
is not a bad guy, just possessive and thinks his wife's
priorities should be 'him' first. He smokes incessantly
and cannot deal with the situation. Watch out for
scenes of a very drunk Shah Rukh talking to the statue
of a horse and the confrontation with Salman. Madhuri
shares good screen chemistry with both her costars.
She breezes through the film with her usual charm
and innocent smile.
Salman
Khan is actually likeable in this role as Radha's
extrovert friend. Be prepared for three Salman Khan
songs where he spares us by not shedding his attire.
The music is catchy, but except the title track no
song leaves a lasting impact. The dance numbers are
strictly okay.
The
question remains: who is right? Suraj, who should
have given the couple some space; Radha, who should
be more sensitive or Gopal, who should be more understanding
of a c
hildhood
friendship?
The
answer is a surprise package. Which means I cannot
spill the beans.
Intoxicating
cocktail? Perhaps not. But it is an interesting topic
to tackle. A remake of the Tamil movie Thotta Chinungi
[starring Revathy], directed by K S Adhiyaman, this
film has been in the news because of the time it has
taken --- almost five years in the making.
Some
inconsistencies in the quality of the film may be
an indication of the fact that the film nearly did
not see daylight. There is also no visible aging of
the characters.
If
you do venture out into the halls for this one, take
lots of popcorn. And a suspicious spouse.
