Ek Deewana Tha - A DIFFERENT Love Story ?!

A Summary:

Boy (Tenants son) - Girl (Home owners daughter) exchange glances; love at first sight; Boy chases Girl; Girl gives in; Confused emotions; Parental pressure against alliance (different caste and religion you see!); Girls rowdy brother; More confused emotions; THE END (Phew - thankfully!)

A few minutes before THE END are mildly gripping and a tad unpredictable (credit to the script writer for this COMING OF AGE ending); but the movie seems to have stretched so long that all the audience longs for is a walk towards the exit!

Pros: Undoubtedly the last few minutes but, as said earlier, the movie till then tests the patience and intelligence of the audience so much that the ending shots may not create a lasting impact (or for that matter ANY impact).

Cons: Amateurish acting (Prateik at times potrays his DEEWANA character lovably but looks confused most of the time while Amy looks extremely pretty but mostly expressionless) and a soulless musical score (maestros A R Rehman and Javed Akhtar fail to deliver) immediately come to mind apart from a whole lot of things!

Verdict: Avoidable - even if you have absolutely nothing else to do!

Rating: 1* for the effort, with a sincere hope that none involved repeat it!

Agneepath - Remade with a Vengeance!!

Naam "Vijay Chauhan". Poora naam "Vijay Dinanath Chauhan". Gaanv "Maandwa". Amitabh made this sequence memorable in his gruff voice a couple of decades ago as the protagonist of the movie about a young boys' sole aim in life - to avenge his idealist fathers' brutal murder. The masses passed their verdict then and, though critically acclaimed, the movie tanked at the BO.

Karan Johar took it upon himself to present a fresh version of his fathers' dream on the 70 mm canvas and avenge the failure of the original. The masses have passed their verdict today and if the first day collection numbers published in the media is anything to go by, has he succeeded!

Unlike most remakes, Karan Malhotra and Karan Johar retained only the essence of the original - Hrithik did not have the gruff voice, Sunil Dutt was potrayed as evil personified; and the character of the good samaritan Mithun was replaced by a downright rogue in Rishi Kapoor - and none of them even attempted to copy the original.

Young Vijay disagreed his non violent fathers ideologies and believed in taking an eye for an eye. He lost his childhood in a flash when the very villagers who adored his father hailed his brutal public execution at the hands of Kaancha Cheena for a gory crime he did not commit and burnt his home.

Abused and despised by the entire village, Vijay and his pregnant mother sought refuge in a seedy Mumbai chawl. Circumstances led Vijay to murder a rogue policeman at the tender age of 12; an age when he decided that the only reason he would exist would be to destroy Kaancha. Rauf Lala, a pimp and drug lord then ruling Mumbai, realised the potential of young Vijay and took him under his wings; Vijay submitted to Rauf Lala, deciding he would be the ladder to reach and finish Kaancha.

Though loyal to Rauf Lala at heart, Vijay does not hesitate to double cross him to commence his revenge on Kaancha. A series of twists and turns later Vijay returns to his village to finally avenge his fathers' murder in a gory climax.

Pros: Neither do the protagonists attempt to COPY the original (it would have been a really tough ask for Hrithik to replicate the Big B's gruff voice; let alone his performance!) characters nor does the director give an impression of the ORIGINAL HANGOVER at any time during the movie. Well etched characters, brilliant performances and the pacy plot hold the viewers attention throughout the longish movie. "Chikni Chameli" Kat deserves a special mention for the amazing performance; her innocent and mischevious face compliment her raunchy moves and lyrics leaving the viewer asking for more!

Cons: Cant think of any.

Rating: 4*

Verdict: Immensely watchable; strictly not for children.