Producer/Director John Mathew Mathan (Debut)
Music director Jatin Lalit
Cast Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre, Naseeruddin Shah, Mukesh Rishi....
Aamir Khan plays ACP Rathod, an IPS officer. He has taken a task of busting a deadly racket involving smuggling arms from Pakistan in India.
His brother is killed by the terrorists in front of his & his father’s eyes. The shock leaves father paraplegic. Thus he vows to fight the terrorism.
Sonali plays his college mate, and is very charming as usual. This film was a turning point in her career I feel. They meet again and their romance is shown nicely in short clips, keeping the story compact.
Naseeruddin Shah plays a famous ghazal singer ’Gulfam Hassan’ a mohajir (migrated to Pakistan after the partition), who lives (two different lives) on both sides of the border.
Mukesh Rishi plays Inspector Salim, and has a positive and strong character. He makes the best of it. Salim is removed from the case on which now Aamir works because, he is not able to capture a criminal in an encounter who happened to be Muslim like him. However, Aamir has confidence in him and Salim supports him.
Aamir is shown a very strict and dedicated IPS officer. The scenes are shot in such a way that you get that feeling.
The plot is good, the picturisation is excellent. The locations in Rajasthan look natural.
The opening score Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaye during titles sung by Sonu Nigam is great.
Jatin Lalit have done a great job in songs like - Jo Haal Dil Ka, Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya (Jagjit singh), Is Deewane Ladke Ko, Yeh Jawani Hadh Kar De (the song in dance bar).
The end is of course predictable but made very nicely.
If you missed this movie, you don’t know what you have missed.
I have seen this movie more than five times and counting.
This movie did not get a Fimfare award as the required ’’publicity’’ was not done. John Matthew was given critics award only, and he expressed his real feelings in his short speech at the awards ceremony.