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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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