I first thought this film is going to be about Mahatma Gandhi and how a fanatic is going to kill him. As such it will run into huge trouble with censors and political parties. To my dismay not only did film have a rather easy release, it also got Tax-free. And then I learnt that a whole galaxy of bright stars are shining in the film as well, so I decided to park myself in the theater and watch it. I used to be in Chandigarh those days. To my utter dismay the film had already been removed from the cinema hall inside two weeks. So I had to wait till the DVD released and I caught up with it.
The film answered my question in first few minutes itself. The film has such lucid philosophical undertones that for 99%people it would have been over the head and hence, no controversies. The film has some of the most well done erotic moments in history of Indian cinema and the execution of the film is first class. The research that has undergone into the various areas of the country, the lifestyle over there, the clothes, dialogues, language is truly amazing. Kamal Hasan recreates the India of yore quite remarkably. The task was not easy as film moves from Bengal to Tamil Nadu to Mumbai to New Delhi and everywhere the detail into research is evident. The likes of Sanjay Leela Bhansali could do well to look at how to treat each actor and character as a whole and how to recreate the India of yore. Right from art direction to the casting everything is well done. Hence, a plump Rani is a Bengali house wife, Vasundhra Das is South Indian and so is Girish Karnad and Hema Malini and a chirpy wonderful Shah Rukh is a Delhi Pathan. The film is truly well researched.
The story is of a man (Kamal Hasan) who blames Gandhiji for the riots which lead to the death of his wife (Rani) in riots of 1947. He remarries Vasundhra Das and goes to shoot Gandhiji and in the tense Delhi street finds his old friend Shah Rukh Khan who teaches him what can conquer hate: LOVE. The whole story is original and fresh. Nothing of this magnitude and inclination has ben attempted ever in Indian cinema. The film has an immense canvas and hence moves at brisk space but the gory details bog it down to what is called intellectual pace. There are no cheap thrills, even the love making scenes are more art than tiltation. The fights are mostly suggestive and not out and out action. And the originality is so striking that nothing appears larger than life. And the characters are so well done that nothing is left for the heroic stuff. The film has its best moments in virtually every frame, but I specially liked the sequence when Kamal Hasan fights his growing fascination for his new wife and his obsession to kill Gandhiji. Here, was a man who could have saved Gandhiji but he saved himself atleast. The film is built around some pioneering incidents.
Of the cast it is out and out Shah Rukh Khan who steals the film in an extended Guest Appearance. He looks the character of a rebel die hard romantic and good natured Pathan. He brings the house down with his dialogues on good stuff and executes them with enormous charm. All in all it is without doubt SRK’s best performance since Dil Se. Rani Mukherjee is exceptional in a brief role and exudes enormous confidence in the scenes with Kamal Hasan. Vasundhra Das brings out the silent South Indian Brahmin to the fore and so do the supporting actors esp Hema Malini and Girish Karnad. Irawati Harshe as Shah Rukh Khan’s wife is probably SRK’s best looking pair in a long time. Both of them look such an adorable husband-wife and your heart cries when SRK dies; for Irawati Harshe. That she manages to do so in only 5 minute role is an achievement which many of her more known contemporaries would never be able to. Kamal Hasan is brilliant in a role that spreads its wings in a whole empty sky. There is not an emotion gone wrong, an eye less twitched, a dialogue less spoken, an expression less done. Just perfect. Infact it is a virtual tour-de-force into the acting school of Kamal Hasan.
The film has excellent direction. He is brilliant in almost every aspect of film making from shot capturing to getting his lead stars to perform. Choreography is pretty much situational as is music which is way unusual. Cinematography is exceptional but looks strained in places. Background score and editing are top class as well.
All in all a fantastic movie with wonderful message and food for thought for mind (if u have one). Watch it just to see SRK and Kamal Hasan’s wonderful acting and an insight into the paradox that India is.
Rating - 4/5 (cinematography and some acting mars its rating).