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Producer : Kumar S. Torani,
Ramesh S. Taurani
Director : Milan Luthria
*ing: Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Manisha Koirala, Namrata
Shirodkar, Maya Alagh, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Govind Namdeo, Annu Kapoor, Parmeet Sethi
& Simran in guest appearance
Music: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Released on : February 19, 1999
Reviewed by: Anish Khanna
anish@indolink.com
out of
After all of the umpteenth successful love stories (how
many movies had "pyaar" in the title last year?), abstract cinema,
political films and what not, sometimes it's refreshing to see an out-and-out,
run-of-the-mill masala film. The only problem is that in the quest for that masala film,
you might stumble upon something as tedious as "Kachche Dhaage". Director Milan
Luthria, a former assistant and relative of Mahesh Bhatt, probably had noble intentions in
making this film. His product, however, is far from noble.
The plot isn't too bad. The illegitimate, Muslim, arms thief son Afthab (Ajay Devgan) and the
legitimate, Hindu, rich, advertising executive son Dhananjay (Saif
Ali Khan) are introduced to each other on their
father's deathbed. Enter a group of terrorists who create an intricate (and unnecessarily
complicated) plan to take advantage of the brothers as well as take revenge on Afthab for
stealing their weapons. The terrorists use the duo to fulfill the usual evil terrorist
deeds. The brothers get framed for a series of crimes and spend the majority of the film
running from the CBI and the local Rajasthani police. Of course - the heroes do have lady
loves in the form of Manisha Koirala (Afthab's love) and Namrata
Shirodkar (Dhananjay's fiance).
The majority of the film revolves around how the two brothers, who initially can't
stand the sight of each other, learn to form a strong tie. The problem, however, is that
there are too many subplots and twists, and even these are presented in a very confusing,
halfhearted manner. There is a mysterious figure in the form of a corrupt army officer,
but when his identity is finally revealed, it turns out to be somebody so insignificant
and peripheral to the film itself that the audience is left asking, "Why do we
care?". We don't. Nor do we care about the four trucks and the train that explode in
an extravagant display of technical effects (the first truck was ok, but four is overdoing
it!)
Another issue with this film is that there are serious continuity and detail problems.
The brothers, being chased by the cops, take a motorcycle ride, walk a bit, run a lot,
take a truck, and then ride a train, but they end up right back in the village where
Manisha is from, which in the beginning is presumed to be right near their starting point
(Ajay's village). Are they running around in circles? Saif's haircut seems to change in
every scene. I guess there's always time for that much-needed visit to the barber, but
even Rogaine can't make his hair grow as fast as it seems to at times. And with the amount
of clothes some of the characters are able to change while on-the- run, one would think
that they are carrying a wardrobe truck with them. These details could be overlooked in
the 80's perhaps, but a big budget film in 1999 just can't cheat the audience like this.
Performance-wise,
Saif and Ajay are typecast so well that there is very little acting required of them.
There is a certain amount of chemistry between the duo, however, which makes their
interaction scenes relatively entertaining. Manisha and Namrata don't have extensive
roles, but they look so beautiful that one can hardly gather up the courage to criticize
them. True, one would expect more from Manisha, but I think she's earned the right to do a
film or two just to highlight her beauty (and what a beauty she is!). The outdoor
locations are some of the most breathtaking I've ever seen on the big screen. The songs
are shot very well, but I was disappointed to see one of my favorite songs poorly
picturized on the cameo-appearing Parmeet Sethi and Simran.
Milan Luthria has potential as a director, but his big fault is that he has attempted
to do too much with one film. We all know that too many cooks spoil the broth, but even if
one cook uses an overabundance of ingredients, the final product can turn out to be less
than desirable. Simplicity is not always such a bad thing, and neither is focus. This film
lacks both. |
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