Of all the different genres of movies, love stories are likely to provoke the widest variety of reaction, since personal preference is such a crucial element in evaluating these films. It’s far easier to agree on what constitutes a solid drama or enjoyable comedy than an effective romance. Scenes which melt some hearts will churn the stomachs of others.
Humko Dewaana Kar Gaye, is such a picture. There are moments when this movie is absolutely magical, but the ending lays it on much too thick.The most disconcerting thing about film’s tendency towards overt melodrama is that almost all of it is totally unnecessary. Minor script changes could have eliminated huge chunks of this, leaving behind an uplifting love story. Even as it is, however, there’s still something special about the film. I just wish the final half-hour hadn’t been such a bloated disappointment.
Despite the drawback , it works to an extent because it dares to be slightly different from most routine Bollywood romance. While there’s nothing radical in the trajectory of Akki and Katrina’s romance, it’s not entirely conventional, either.The thing that When film does best is to keep the focus firmly on the relationship between the two characters, never wandering off on unwelcome tangents. If you’ve a sweet tooth, you might really like this movie, and even ignore some of its triteness[Mainly Climax] .
Story
The underlying premise of film represents a fairly typical foundation for a motion picture romance (one that we’ve seen countless times before) - two individuals, initially drawn to each other without any reasons. They feel comfortable and relaxed with each other. In short, they have fallen in love. Yet neither knows how to handle the unexpected turn of events.
Aditya [Akshay Kumar] is a middle class man who works in a leading car company as an automobile engineer and a test driver. Jia [Katrina Kaif] is a simple girl of a billionaire father, Yashwardhan Birla.For Aditya, cars are everything and he is extremely passionate about them. For Jia, love mattered most with all her wealth being secondary.
Aditya is engaged to Sonia [Bipasha Basu]. Jia is engaged to Karan Raichand [Anil Kapoor].
And then the two met!
Both Aditya and Jia belonged to a totally different world but they miss one common thing from their respective fiances - time for love!Sonia is herself an upcoming fashion designer and has an ambitious outlook towards life. She wants to reach the top by all means while Aditya is simple and straightforward in his living. This resulted in constant clashes in ideologies.
On the other hand, Karan himself is a business tycoon and could never find much time for Jia.In the middle of all this, marriages of both Aditya and Jia gets fixed.
Story takes a turn when Aditya has to go to Canada to learn about a new car model; Sonia has to visit Paris for a fashion show while Jia too decides to go to Canada to shop for her wedding!
Aditya and Jia happen to meet a few times in Canada and a mere acquaintance soon takes the meaning of friendship. A friendship that made the two open their hearts and confide in each other. And when sparks flew, the two forget that they had someone else in life with whom they had committed to spend the rest of their lives!
As luck would have it, Jia has a change of heart as she got into a misunderstanding with Aditya. Also she wakes up to the fact that Karan is her destiny. She breaks away with Aditya who himself goes back to his first love Sonia to get married.
But this is not where the story ends. There is a twist in the tale as Aditya and Jia come face to face yet again - this time at Jia’s marriage!Will the two rush back to each other arms while Karan and Sonia see their love going away right in front of their eyes?Watch the film to get the answer!
Critical Analysis
Director Raj Kanwar must have a thing for romance. He’s not interested in breaking any new ground, nor does he make the attempt.Love is in the air, as the old tune goes. You know from the beginning that Akshay and Katrina are going to get together. If you can’t figure that out, you’ve probably gone to the wrong movie. The only question is whether the scenario that brings them together will be lively, repetitive, or inept. For Humko Dewaana Kar Gaye, it falls somewhere between the first and second .
The two main characters are well-written, with both easily transcending the level of stereotyping they could have easily fallen into. The chemistry between them is tangible -- not the sultry, sexy kind that often characterizes boy-meets-girl stories, but something cuter and more fanciful.They are on equal footing, each matching the other’s performances scene-for scene, look-for-look, mannerism-for-mannerism, fully inhabiting the skins of their characters. We learn almost nothing about these two as far as their lives apart from each other are concerned, but we come to know them through this relationship. We discover them as they discover each other. This is one of the many small pleasures offered by Humko Dewaana Kar Gaye.
Clearly , casting is one of the film’s strengths.Often, relationships in Bollywood movies are contentious. Not so in this film. Akshay and Katrina are two lovable people who don’t yell at each other.Like most many Bollywood films, this is a talky one, but, when the characters open their mouths, they are not just doing so to fill time - they actually have something to say.More than just another chick flick or sappy romance, this film presents us with two characters who are both believable and endearing.
However, although the film poses some intriguing questions about the some complex aspect of relationships, it never really answers them.Despite this , for more than an hour, Humko Dewaana Kar Gaye is thoroughly enchanting. With breathtaking locales of Canada and a script laced with cute moments, the first 60 minutes weave a spell that will dissipate the cynicism of even the grumpiest viewer. But then the melodrama, which is initially light and innocuous, asserts its presence and draws the film into a ponderously silly climax. Even the most beautifully-realized love story can’t camouflage this kind of flaw.
Akshay, who is frequently chosen for parts that demand energy and verve, does an excellent job in his role. It’s easy enough to make his part a cliched one, but Akki’s heartfelt performance common trap that. He reflects a man we can accept and whose grief we can sympathize with. Katrina has a luminance that lights up the screen and is a natural throughout.....
Bipasha and Anil both turn in decent performances .Along with lead pairs, they compensate for the weaknesses of the script with top billing.The rest of the cast is passable .Music is decent with title track being the pick of lot..
Conclusion....
All in all, it’s quite decent .But I wouldn’t recommend Humko Dewaana Kar Gaye to cynics. Some will be put off by the exaggerated elements of romance and melodrama. However, if you can put off your cynical 1990s sensibilities and appreciate the film as a traditional romance, you’ll definitely enjoy what is here.
Release date-14th April , 2006