Everytime I think of this movie, I curse J.P. Dutta.. because the movie is so beautiful that it did not deserve the kind of a climax that it had... it did not deserve the cheap production values and the awful dubbing.
This is the one movie in recent times that seemed to capture the poetic brilliance of hindi films. The dialogues by O.P Dutta deserve every bit of appreciation that you can give. The music by Anu Malik deserves more than a National award... and then there are a few sequences in the film between Abhishek bachchan and Kareena Kapoor that remind you of the feel good romance of films in the 60s.. it almost is too good to be true.. and so it shows..
The lead stars do a commendable job with their first film. Its a pity that the film failed. The introduction sequences of both the stars deserves a special mention because it could perhaps be deemed the best introduction to films of an actor or an actress. Their performances thereafter are so good that you almost wish J.P Dutta had justified their performances better.
The film as a whole is unique in its theme and picturization. The film is based on the theme that love knows no barriers, no boundaries or borders; that love transcends all of these. Its about a man who has no identity, who is called REFUGEEE and who helps people in the period after the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. He helps people across the borders so that people living in India and the then East Pakistan and now Bangladesh can go to the land of their dreams(Pakistan) and vice versa. One such day he comes across a family going to pakistan and he is besotted with the girl (kareena) who is also attracted to this kind principled man, though he has no identity.
Its a story about how their love has to overcome these manmade barriers and its a thought provoking film about borders between nations and how love transcends all these borders. The song ’’Panchi Nadiya Pawan ke Jhoke’’ captures the theme of the film in all its poetic splendour.
* ’’ Birds, Rivers, and the gusts of winds;No borders can stop these.. These Borders are meant for mortals; And so I think, What have you and I gained by being humans?’’
All this sounds well and good until Mr. Dutta goes overboard with these idealistic notions. The film fails to reach out to the audience because even though the thought is pure, the action is’nt. The viewer will fail to understand the idiotic coincidences, the birth of a child on the border, the over the board and unnecessarily loud jackie Shroff (who plays a Border Security Force officer), and his sequences with Sunil Shetty.. and the very illogical sequence of the encounter of the BSF with the militants who capture the village from which the refugee hails.
All the sequences thereafter attempting to glorify the hero seem so contrived in the otherwise original and beautiful film. This is evident even more so because of the cheap production values. One wishes Mr.Dutta had spent a little money too instead of just cashing in on the popularity and hype of the young stars to be.
Anyway, its such a pity now that the film that could have been a classic ends up being a hardly mentionable one. Its time our film makers realized that the films climax justifies the whole film. One instance where a so-so film was made to be a brilliant one was Mission Kashmir. Perhaps we should ask Mr.Dutta to watch the fillum.. It was a very average effort that was glorified because it had a defining and captivating climax. Hope J.P.Dutta justifies his huge cast with his next offering ’’L.O.C’’
O.P. Dutta’s dialogues are what made this film special, the cinematography is brilliant in parts esp. the shots of the desert, but toward the end everybody seemed to have lost interest in the film. It is heard that the film was shot in the way it is seen.... in the same series.. from beginning to end... it was shot in that order.. no wonder the climax is so lacklustre..
moral of the story.. shoot the climax first?? any suggestions anyone??
Anyways inspite of al these drawbacks the film is still worth a dekho for its beautiful moments and endearing performances.
*(I apologise to Mr. javed Akhtar for crudely interpreting his words.. I only meant to make everyone read his lines ’’Panchi Nadiya’’ and understand the words)