Producer: Subhash Ghai
Director: Subhash Ghai
*ing: Shahrukh Khan, Mahima Chawdhry, Amrish Puri, Apoorva Agnihotri, Himani Shivpuri,
Shobha Khote, Alok Nath
Music : Nadeem-Shravan
Reviewed by: Sunder Kumar
sunder@indolink.com
Rating : 
(out of 
)
Subhash Ghai in "foreign" territory - an apt headline for his latest offering "Pardes". At the end of a long movie, as any of Subhash Ghai movies, the feeling is not very different from coming out of a Yash Chopra movie - to the extent the movie bears stark resemblance to the latest Chopra hit DDLJ. But Subhash Ghai is a director with a unique style, and that is a significant differentiation between the two movies.
The story in a crux - Kishorilal (Amrish Puri) wants an "Indian" girl for his "American" son Apoorva (newcomer Apoorva Agnihotri). The "Indian" girl is Ganga (a pet Subhash Ghai name, just as Chandni was Yash Chopra's favorite for a long time). Mahima Chaudhary has a meaty debut role to display her wares (no pun intended) - and lives upto expectations without outperforming them. There is heavy Madhuri influence in her first performance much as Manisha Koirala had in Saudagar - is Subhash Ghai responsible? (of course Subhash Ghai had first made the role for Madhuri...)
Arjun (Shahrukh) comes into the movie to get the American-boy to accept Indian values, and support the Indian-girl to accept American vices. The reverse does not fit into this movie. Arjun is a foster-son of Kishorilal, and is portrayed as an Indian at heart (he is the good hero!). Predictably, the movie is a triangle, but the strength of this movie is in the manner in which the Arjun-Ganga relation is developed through familiarity, friendship, trust, dependence and then love in the last reels. The absence of love duets in the soundtrack is hence not surprising. While not revealing much about the "happy" ending, it must be mentioned that there is stark similarity between this movie and DDLJ here.
The music by Nadeem-Shravan is highlight in the movie, though the soundtrack wasn't so impressive. It is strongly built upon experience in the lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The picturizations have the touch of Subhash Ghai, and so does the cinematography by Kabir Lal. The movie moves along a pleasant pace, without making you realize the length of the movie. Given these technical strengths, the directorial flaws include a Kabaddi match swayamwar, and a bunch of cartoons going by AC, MC, BC who have add no value to the storyline.
On a humorous, extremely picky note, to the best of my knowledge Air India does not fly a Boeing 747 out of Los Angeles, Delhi Airport does not have Marathi information boards, and Indian Airlines does not fly into the US. And most blatantly, Ganga is seen wearing her engagement ring, even after having chucked it and run away from home. Small mistakes that could have been avoided.
Also, an observation - three movies of Shahrukh this year - have him as the girl-hunter for Amrish in Koyla, Aditya in Yes Boss, and now Amrish's son Apoorva in Pardes. And he ends up in love. Is this coincidence or planning. Is this Shahrukh phase II after the villanous Shahrukh phase I ?
Among the strengths of the movie are first-rate performances by key players. Amrish is at his usual best (after Gardish, DDLJ, Ghatak, and Virasat). Alok Nath is less preachy and more tolerable as Ganga's father, and Amrish's village friend. Newcomer Apoorva has a screen presence as the Americanized boy, except when he faces father Amrish, and looks like a mouse! Mahima is good in most sequences, except the songs where she overdoes the Madhuri-bit, without that grace of "vintage" Madhuri. Aditya Narayan (son of singer Udit) comes of very well as Ganga's kid brother. And hero Shahrukh comes up with a restrained performance, that seems to play second fiddle to his energetic self and other players in the movie. But the restraint serves him great as this should rank on par with DDLJ and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.
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