Producer: Ketan Mehta
Director: Ketan Mehta
ing : Jackie Shroff, Deepa Sahi, Ritu
Shivpuri, Kamal Sidhu
Music : Viju Shah
Reviewed by: Ali Ikram
ali@indolink.com
Rating : 
(out of 
)
BORE YAAR BORE...BORE YAAR BORE!!! This is what the title song of
thefilm should warn potential viewers. Aar Ya Paar is 1997's first reallybad Bollywood
flick, and it will probably remain one of the ten worstfor this year.
Director Ketan Mehta, a highly-acclaimed parallel cinema director seemsto always falter in making a decent film when he attempts to tacklecommercial movies. His previous Hero Hiralal, Maya Memsaab and OhDarling! Yeh Hai Boredom (sorry, I meant India) have all been insipidflicks that provided very little entertainment for the audience. It isunusual that an individual who is acclaimed for making such highlyacclaimed, serious films as Mirch Masala and Sardar Patel cannot make adecent commercial film, but this is precisely the case with Ketan Mehta. The characters in Aar Ya Paar are very serious and dead-pan with oneanother as if they are from an art film. Unfortunately, the film'sstory and the dictates of commercial cinema require them to be morecarefree and energetic.
Jackie is a con-man who marries Kamal Sidhu, a rich parentless, womanfor her money. His marrriage is a failure as both characters have verydominant personalities, so our hero has an affair with his wife'ssecretary Deepa Sahi. The husband and the secretary scheme to kill offthe rich brat and inherit her money, but little does Jackie no that heis being betrayed by Deepa.
It is a very novel and potentially entertaining movie, but as I saidearlier Ketan does not know how to handle the characters. Mr. Mehta'scharacters need to be much more energetic and fun to watch. As is, itis like watching a bunch of zombies enact the roles.
Only one character in the film is not quiet; unfortunately she is tooloud. Newcomer Kamal Sidhu is one of the worst actresses I have everseen on the big screen. She screams her head off at her unfaithfulhusband in each and every scene. Since the rest of the characters arevery subdued and quiet, these 'yelling sequences' are a form of migraineheadaches for the audience every five minutes until the character isfinally killed off. And when Sidhu is finally murdered one feels likegiving a standing ovation to Jackie for his good deed.
Back to other aspects of the film, the cinematography is adequate. Venice looks nice but upon seeing Sidhu run through its streets like astupid school girl, one wishes the mob would get a sharp-shooter andtake her out.
Even the amazing songs from the soundtrack are given very shabbytreatment in the film. Of the eight songs in the audio, only five areincluded in the film, and those too have very bad choreography and weirdcostumes.
With a director like Raj Kanwar or Kuku Kohli, both of whom understandcommercial cinema like the back of their hand, this film could have beengreat. Unfortunately it really sucks. Even most Jackie Shroff fans Iknow hated the film. For your health and sanity's sake do not watchthis flick.
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