What can happen if two good friends are smitten by the same girl and(naturally) both are willing to marry her? The likely answer is - either they may give preference to their friendship or they may give preference to the desire to marry the girl. If the latter preference works, then the friendship cannot last and the path may be paved for one(or both) of them to get rid of the rival for the girl’s love. That’s the story of Khel(2003).
Khel(game) is the story of two such friends only - Rohan(Ajay Jadeja) and Dev(Suneel Shetty) who are fast friends. Dev is a big businessman whereas Rohan is also well-off in general. Dev is hot-headed whereas Rohan has a happy-go-lucky gentle nature. Their friendship is above everything else for them. However when both of them fall for the charms of Saanjh(Celina Jetley), it becomes a challenge for their friendship. Saanjh also falls in love with Rohan. On the other hand, Rohan is unaware of Dev’s feelings for Saanjh. Saanjh’s mother(being unaware of her love for Rohan) is quite happy to marry her off to Dev. But when Dev comes to know that Rohan and Saanjh are in love, then the trouble strikes.
Rohan who has harboured a nature to help others, suddenly finds himself caught in the charge of a girl’s murder. Considering the resourcefulness of Dev as well as his fondness for Rohan, it is expected by all and sundry that he will leave no stone unturned to get Rohan, his close friend, acquitted as soon as possible. However the lawyers hired by Dev are taken aback when Dev assigns them the task to ensure that Rohan remains imprisoned only. Nobody in the outer world knows as to what’s the game of Dev in this regard. Most of the people also don’t know that Dev now perceives Rohan not as a friend but as an obstacle in the path of his marriage with Saanjh. Now Rohan who has always believed that since he doesn’t harm anybody, he also won’t be harmed in the same way, is in trouble. For him, his troubleshooter is Dev only. But hardly he knows that Dev himself is behind this scenario.
In comes the real hero of this movie - ACP Rajveer Scindia(Sunny Deol) who sniffs some conspiracy going against Rohan. By his deductive reasoning and investigation, he ascertains that Rohan’s so-called friend Dev only is the mastermind behind the whole set-up. He also realizes as to what’s Dev’s motive behind his activities. Then the outwitting game starts between Rajveer and Dev. Rajveer has to prove Dev’s guilt and Rohan’s innocence whereas Dev has to escape from any such situation. Now with Rohan in prison, he also succeeds in getting Saanjh agree to marry him. In the outwitting game, as expected, our hero only wins and gets Rohan acquitted. How? It’s to be seen on the screen.
Khel was originally named as Kashish(attraction) which would have been a more suitable title for this movie considering its story. Anyway, it’s a movie with a glossy look which moves on the star power of Sunny Deol on one hand and the fresh faces of Ajay Jadeja and Celina Jetley on the other. Once Rohan is arrested, the narrative picks-up pace and moves swiftly towards its culmination. Sunny Deol’s entry is late in the movie but once he arrives, the movie becomes quite interesting and keeps the audience tied to their seats despite the fact that the end is predictable. The scene in which Rajveer shows mirror to Dev who has maintained the image of Rohan’s best friend, while standing with him at a height, is quite impressive.
Technically the movie is superior. Music is so-so. Writer-director Yousuf Khan has done overall a good job to make an entertaining movie but its length is too much. It should have been suitably trimmed to present a crisp movie to the audience. Performance wise talking, Sunny Deol has done a good job. Suneel Shetty is also alright in the role of the villain. Cricketer Ajay Jadeja hasn’t done badly in his debut movie but his dialogue delivery is poor. Another debutante Celina Jetley(who had earlier won the Miss India title) looks quite beautiful but her acting part leaves a lot to be desired. The supporting cast didn’t have much to do.
While watching Bollywood movies based on the friendship of two(or more) boys who fall for the same girl, I had got habituated to see one of the(utterly filmy) friend sacrificing his love for the other friend. Khel was the first movie in which I saw one friend trying to remove the other one from his path for the sake of the girl’s love. The movie, though not excellent, is a nice timepass.
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