Ritu's Reviews

For the first time ever, two of the BEST actors of Indian cinema come opposite one another as a romantic pair. Fanaa stars Aamir Khan and Kajol! It tops the list as one of the most awaited films this summer, surrounded by hype primarily for 3 reasons: firstly, it’s a Yash Raj production, secondly, it brings Aamir Khan and Kajol together of course, and thirdly, last but not least, it’s the previous queen bee Kajol’s full feature comeback film! She allowed fans to thirst for her onscreen charisma for so long, till she finally decided to quench their thirst with her solo lead in Fanaa.

With a striking star cast, a proven director behind the wheels, and a solid production house, how can this film crash?

Well don’t be surprised, but it can.

With audience expectations as they are, box-office records can attest, in this day and age, no combination is a guarantee. If it’s good it’s good, if it isn’t, it just isn’t. No miraculous star pair can save the day. The rule remains for Fanaa – Destroyed in Love.

Proving himself with 2004’s hit Hum Tum, a romantic comedy, loosely based on the concept of When Harry Met Sally, director Kunal Kohli this time takes on a patriotic romance. However, this time around, he proves to be a poor storyteller. Capable of handling romance, he doesn’t quite hold the reigns in others areas of the film. But it’s not entirely his fault. Where as Hum Tum has a focus friendship, love, and a brush of serendipity, Fanaa, lacks focus.

It’s difficult to execute a story that has far too much taking place. You have issues of:
- blind girl
- mother out of wedlock
- widow
- terrorism
- Kashmir vs. the world
- “I love my India”
- con-man
...the list goes on!

Basically the movie tries to incorporate love, patriotism, drama, and more all in to one, but doesn’t end up being satisfying in any SINGLE aspect. Everything is all over the place and proper time isn’t really given to unfold the layers that lay beneath a single issue.
The first half of the film is breezy, a bit unrealistic even for a Bollywood film, but cute. The poetic exchange of dialogue is entertaining and sweet. In the latter half, the pace is slow and you are confronted with the question of “where is the story going and when will it get there”?

Music by Jatin-Lalit, sounds similar to the styles of A.R. Rahman and Ismail Darbar. Still they can only boast of 3 striking compositions, vs. their tendency to score and entire hit album.
‘Chand Sifarish’, ‘Mere Haath Mein’, and ‘Dekho Na’ are the select winners.
Although beautifully shot, the length of the songs between the already lengthy film are slightly annoying.

Cinematography is of quality. Special effects on the other hand could have been more apt.

The beef of the film is in the natural performances by Kajol and Aamir. They are the right couple in the wrong film. Great onscreen chemistry makes them a desirable pair.
Kajol, after motherhood, is back younger and more stunning than ever before. It is truly wonderful to have an actress with such great histrionics back on screen. Be it looks or performance she does not fail the expectations of her fans.
As for Aamir, he carries off his complicated character as best he can. Audiences will be more appreciative of his appearance in the second half vs. his look in the first half. Although not one of his greatest performances, being the perfectionist he is, no major room for complaints. (On an entirely personal and side note, he may not have been able to save the fate of the film, but Shah Rukh Khan would have added a little more charm with his presence.)
Rishi Kapoor and Kiran Kher are functional. Lara Dutta makes a bizarre and pointless appearance. Shiney Ahuja too shows face for no apparent reason. The child artist will win hearts with his cuteness, warm presence, and silly antics.

Fanaa resulted as an average show. Reactions of people out of theatres ranged anywhere from, "not a bad film, OK, timepass" to "humaare teen ghante FANAA ho gaye" (our three hours were destroyed!)

From a disappointed critic, FANAA receives Ritu's 2 ½ stars!

...now all we have to look forward to this summer are KKRISH & Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna...
Let's hope the magic of the 'K' works!