Remember disastrous Fiza by talented Khalid Mohamed and Hrithik Roshan, followed by Mission Kashmir of Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It seems like filmmakers are allured by the theory of an innocent Kashmiri militant and they never seem to get enough of it. Well, that was some six odd years ago and now once again Kunal Kohli tries to present the concept with bit more of melodrama. There have been more than one set of similarities between all these films, lack of concrete script, some fantastic cinematography, slow paced screenplay, strong female character portrayal ( be it Karisma in Fiza, Pretty in Mission Kashmir, and mesmeric Kajol in Fanaa ), and ofcourse the dud endings leaving viewers bewildered.
Fanna has definitely been an attempt by the director to do something different, however I would suggest him to better stick to his foray of chocolaty films (his last was Hum Tum with Saif and Rani Mukherjee). In the nutshell, it has been a big let down to all the viewers who have been rather waiting for the movie very eagerly.
Fanaa meaning ‘destroyed in love’, was planned to embody the dark side of a love story in a patriotic flavor. The movie begins with the scenic New Delhi and all its historical architectures. The story grows at a painfully slow rate and thus loosening its grip in the first half itself, though there were hints of some revival towards the beginning of second half but nothing seemed to have helped the lousy screenplay. Even the poetry dialogues sprinkled wholeheartedly across the script are very jaded and sounds dated. Talking about performances, Kirron Kher seems to have perfected the art of motherhood in Bollywood after legendary Nirupa Roy, she is good in her short appearance. Rishi Kapoor still maintains those cute looks but he didn’t have any major chunk to perform. The fulcrum of the film was always on Aamir and he never seems to disappoint his fans. He always gives a new dimension to any character he plays and Rehan Qadri in Fanaa is absolutely to watch out for his expressions and presentation. However the character never blossomed on screen, it looked much curtailed both in romantic and then in ruthless militant look. I still wonder at the choice of this script by the versatile actor. Tabu also jumps in with a small cameo but she looked far away from whole thing. She could hardly relate to the passion and the temperament of an intelligence officer.
Finally, all is not lost in Fanaa, the character that really looms large over the whole show is Zooni Ali Beg, portrayed to near perfection by none other than Kajol. She has everything going for her way as she looks really enticing and powerful from within. This could have been a perfect comeback movie for the actress only if the treatment would have been little better but nonetheless she has captivated the viewer’s imagination with those big expressive eyes and graceful looks. She maintains the dignity of the character and even commands attention with her screen presence.
The cinematography is another delight in the dismal depiction. The picturesque locales of Poland (shown as Kashmir) are a treat to watch and would alteast sooth few eyes in scorching Indian summer. Also the song ‘Dekho Na’ is sure to hang around for sometime for visuals and background score, it shows that Sonu Nigam has well graduated to a classical vocalist and he is doing all legendary singers proud. Then comes the music and Jatin-Lalit are no Rehman, they tried to work on similar lines but without much of gain. Sufi music requires a whole lot more of depth with lyrical value and it is disappointing to say the least. The songs lack the punch and repeat value in any way. They are highly situational but still fail to bind along. To add to the latest trend of remixed fast paced songs there is one by DJ Aqeel called “Fanaa for You…” which has been added more for a necessity than for a requirement. To complement all, the climax has been rushed up with a frantic build up and it leaves so many tattered ends to the film.