MASALA ENTERTAINMENT
It promises you a dose of everything - romance, patriotism passion, emotions, comedy and action. And on most counts Farah Khan doesn’t disappoint on her debut directorial venture Main hoo na. But the movie misses out on one vital count - intensity !
Farah says that there is a little bit of Pancham in her music, a little bit of Nasir Hussain in her story and a little bit of Manmohan Desai in the screenplay, in fact a conglomeration of the 70s and the present day cinema. So we have a chase sequence reminiscent of the CHAL DHANNO from SHOLAY. This time round it’s a scorpion versus a cycle rickshaw named DHANNO.
Wild! But then that’s what MAI HOO NA is supposed to be, wild and whacky, comic and emotional, without going overboard. So we do not get to see SRK hamming too much or going into raptures in the MAA-BETA scenes. And Thank Farha for that! Farah khan scores in her venture of bringing pure entertainment, masala style on the celluloid. That she has been an avid fan of yesteryear blockbusters is clearly seen in MAI HOO NA.
Talking of MAI HOO NA, she blends the past with the present in fluid strokes and has wielded the directorial baton to bring a project that is replete with bollywood masala. Of course in between you do get a feeling all this is too farfetched, is illogical, in fact in the action department SRK leaves Rambo much behind with his punching and leaping and you say ?. Whew! I think that’s a bit too much. But then that’s what Farah khan had wanted the audience to see.
Major Ram Prasad Sharma (Shah Rukh Khan thank god its not Raj or Rahul), a Para Trooper is the best the army has (But naturally, with SRK can it be anything else). He sees his father General Shekhar Sharma (Naseeruddin Shah) being shot by a hard core terrorist Raghavan (Suneil Shetty) whose aim is to disrupt the Project Milaap between India and Pakistan where both the countries are aiming at taking the first steps towards normalizing relations.
This project is a dream of Chief in Commander of Army Baxi (Kabir Bedi) and Shekhar Sharma. Raghavan will go to any length to disrupt the peace procedure even if it means killing innocent people or taking the C - in C’s daughter Sanjana (Amrita rao) as hostage. While on his deathbed, Shekhar takes a promise from Ram that he will help accomplish his dream project. Shekhar also divulges one more fact - that Ram has a stepbrother Lakshman. Shekhar want Ram to bring home his Stepbrother and step mom Madhu (Kiron Kher), who had walked out of his life twenty years ago on account of his being unfaithful (Masoom ?!!), as it was a case of either the NAJAYAZ AULAD (Ram) or she and her son. Shekhar chooses Ram coz Ram doesn’t have anyone else in his life.
Now Ram has two missions in his life - to look for his long lost half brother and go undercover so that he can protect Sanjana who is under threat from Raghavan. Mere coincidence that he gets to fulfill his mission at one place, St. Paul’s School, Darjeeling, where Sanjana andhis bro Lakshman aka Lucky (Zayed Khan) are studying.
Does Ram go to college as a teacher or student? Well, as a student, who stands out with his proper haircut, prim and proper clothes and an attitude to match. A total misfit among the shaggy denim wearing, midriff showing MTVish crowd! Time for lots of laughter and fun. Throw in Boman Irani as a forgetful Principal, add a little bit of oomph of the hindi teacher Mrs. Kakkar (Bindu), bring a hissing and spitting physics teacher in the shape of Satish Shah and you have a riot on screen. Lastly watch the scenes between the sensuous Chemistry Teacher Chandani (Sushmita Sen) and Ram, and go into peals of laughter whenever he comes face to face with her.
After the fun and frolic its time for emotion and action. Lakshman and madhu come to know of Ram’s true identity and he is ordered out of their house (Emotion). And this is just the time when Raghavan arrives on the scene creating mayhem, taking the students as hostages and demanding that project Milaap be abandoned or it would spell doom for the students. (Action Time)
Madhu realizes that Ram should be forgotten and her dialogue MERE DONO BETE MUZHE WAPAS CHAHIYE (EMOTIONS) eggs Ram On.
Action - DHISHUM DHISHUM bang bang boom boom. Scintilliating action sequences and its all over with the bad guy being blown up and the good guys being blown up and the good guys going home to mom. SRK is subdued, his larger than life image takes a backseat and we do not get to see him in every frame. He doesn’t ham, is restrained and definitely is the sould of the movie.
There’s been such a lot of talk about the onscreen chemistry between Sush and SRK. Sadly its all talk
- for there is simply no chemistry, that kind that SRK shares with Kajol or for that matter Rani Mukherjee is simply missing here. But then the script doesn’t demand him to be passionately in love - its more of a student falling for his teacher. So we have a wide eyed SRK going about in a daze following Chandani like a zombie. As for Sush, she looks like a million bucks and does what is required of her. She did not have much to do except cat walk, and that she carried off with aplomb.
The surprise is Amrita Rao, who stands to gain a lot from MAI HOO NA. She has the most consistent, she dances well, emotes well, is gorgeous to look at and possesses all other qualities required for a good actor to survive in this industry. Zayed Khan has improved tremendously. He is no more awkward and gawky while facing the camera. Even though wooden during the emotional scenes, he is able to carry off the light, banter filled scenes well. Naseer, as always impresses in his small role. Satish shah, Kiron kher, kabir bedi, and boman irani are sadly wasted here.
Coming to the bad guy, Suneil Shetty - he is strictly OK, the fanaticism associated with terrorists is missing - like I said the intensity is missing. Music by Anu Malik is foot tapping and melodious. Watch the superbly picturised GORI GORI SONG - its gonna be a rage. It reminds one of the Asha Parekh - Shammi Kapoor rock and roll songs of yesteryears.
There are no twists and turns in the movie, there are a lot of goof ups, and loops in the story, you know how the story is going to unfold as its an of-repeated theme, the treatment given to it also is not so different - like I said, it has bits and pieces from the movies of yesteryears, modified to suit Farah’s taste - a tribute she has paid to Bollywood directors. Its not path breaking cinema but then Farah khan did not intend making one.
Overall, a fun film, worth a watch. Since its pure masala entertainment, best to leave your brains in the parking lot. When SRK says MAI HOO NAA, believe him for its is he alone who carries the moves on his shoulders.