Bhootnath

First things first. The movie is for kids, at best qualifying as a summer vacation family entertainer. And to make sure he caters to the family, the director includes a supposedly tear jerking second half, which in my accordance is the primary undoing for the film which could otherwise have been an out and out kids entertainer. There is something in the DNA of the Indian movie maker that compels him to insert a song here and there, the relevance taking the back seat. Well, to give due credits the opening song has been fantastically directed and shot. Everything from the music to the camera adds to the glam-sham.

The first half is funny, with a couple of scenes just qualifying to the hilarious category. And it is after the initial 35-40 mins that the director's total loss of control over the genre or direction of the movie starts becoming apparent. Why anyone would choose to turn a potential laugh-riot for kids into a 'mukti' seeking 'aatma's story is beyond my intellectual reach. There is not much to review in the movie per se, as the story has been seen, lived a hundred times at least in Hindi movies.

As for the performances, the kid is good. Though only a Mani Ratnam could do full justice as far as eliciting realistic emotions from kids are concerned. Well, now Aamir too. This kid is not Darsheel-good; but the comparison at best would be unfair. Amitabh is really cool as the 'bhoot' in the first half, and keeping in sync with the movie loses it in the second. Juhi, as much as I love her bubbly roles, is slowly getting irritating. Shahrukh sizzles in the measly guest appearance screen time he has. Apart from that the Satish Shah and Rajpal yadav comedy track seems banal. Camera, SFX, sound and other technicalities are just fine, nothing adding to the movie in particular but thankfully not taking anything away from it either. In the music department, Vishal-Shekhar under-perform yet again. Though the background score is efficient.

Overall, the movie is worth a dekho on a weekend night with plenty of kids around so you feel good sitting amidst sounds of laughter riots, at least in the first half.

Shaurya

For those who don't have the time or inclination to read the review... the movie is good. If you haven't watched A Few Good Men (AFGM); do not miss this one. For the rest...

Putting together a cast that any director would die for, Samar Khan pulls together a much better attempt this time than his forgettable Kuch Meetha Ho Jaye! With KK Menon, Rahul Bose and Javed Jaffery the lead powerhouse characters were in place. Minissha Lamba ably plays the second fiddle. The movie overall is a tight piece of work with some good scenes and creditable performances, especially Javed Jaffery. Samar Khan seems to have taken scenes directly from AFGM to the extent that even the dialogues and the delivery seem to be rehashed versions. Technically, the movie is good. Camera work is helped by the very backdrop: Kashmir. The court room scene is well enacted by Rahul and KK, though Tom and Jack in the original leave the viewers astounded. I thought KK had the toughest role to do. Especially because his sequences were almost a replica of Jack's from the original.

As far as the plot goes, the original even today amazes me because nothing is personal there. Whereas, the Indianized version, though tightly woven, has the personal vendetta touch to it, the Hindu-Muslim yet again forming the backdrop. As much as the plot seems to be trite and banal, the director ensures a good flow and does not deviate with unnecessary songs or comedy tracks. Rahul, I feel, is falling with each movie into his own trap. His characterization of the carefree lawyer is very much like the one in Pyar ke Side Effects. He, I advise, has to come out of this self-typecasting. KK, in his introduction is a touch comical which doesn't hold up with his character. But again, holds his class in the scenes that matter the most.

Overall, a very good remake of an excellent movie. Go catch it.