Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hhole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past.
~Henry Ward Beecher
New Year needs to be celebrated with fanfare, parties, friends and merry making. I had none of the options. So I took the only alternative I had; watching TV to mark the end of the year and watching TV yet again to welcome the New Year! Now that I have celebrated (!) my New Year with viewing a film, I should do what needs to be done…Write a review on the film!
Lakshya was a story about finding the goal in life and working towards it. Initially even the viewers had this notion in their minds when they started to watch the film. But like the director, mid way we realize that “No, this is not the idea or the story we had in our mind!!!”.
The film disappointed me at two levels; one at the audience level and second as an Indian. Let me get to the first one. As a member of the audience, I was expecting a lot from Farhan’s second film. Totally my mistake! The film runs short on story, acting and stars. No doubts the theme was good and it would have done wonders if treated rightly…but it wasn’t. The second area where it disappoints is the backdrop. You have a battle film which doesn’t give the message as assertively as required. It would have been a good idea if the film would have dealt with patriotism at a much deeper level. It didn’t… The film made a dull attempt to capture the glory of Kargil Warriors!
The film stars Hritik, Preity, Boman, Amitabh & Sushant Singh in main roles. Hritik is shown as a young man who has no focus in life. He has his friends, his music and his laid back plans. One fine day he realizes what a waste he has been and what is “Lakshya” is in life…Now my issue is with the director here. This theme should have been treated with a lot more maturity. We all face similar issue when we are at crossroads. But do we really find our answers? Hritik doesn’t get motivated from his dad’ constant bickering. He finds his “Lakshya” all thanks to Preity decision on not meeting him. I think this is where film starts failing.
Next on line is Preity’s role. She is shown as this highly reputed journalist who is send to cover the warfront; a take off from Barkha Dutt. But if Barkha sees this film, she may decide to sue the makers. Journalists are supposedly meant to cover news, give the right news bites and be off from romance atleast when in professional workfield. Here she does nothing of that sort; she is romancing, she gives small inputs for news and she has her make up on. Her role was half baked from the start. Not much blame can be passed on to Preity.
Small roles are done by actors who are stalwarts in their fields. It would have been a great show with Amitabh and Boman; but no it didn’t happen again. The film falters and the audience just waits in anticipation. The patriotism is given a raw deal in the film. The stars are let down. The film is a let down in terms of expectations; nothing more!
Music is good. I like all the songs of the film. They have their own charm like the songs of DCH. But again no comparisons should be done; because it may lead to disillusionments yet again! Watch the choreography, style and words…
I am not sounding too optimistic about the film. It is partly because of the film and partly of my mood. I still haven’t got into my regular routine of writing a review. This was a start to get into my habitual hum drum. Hope the year gives me a lot more reason to write good stuff! Please feel free to tell me if I missed out on somethings or emphasised on the worthless points!!!