Around this time, almost 3 years ago, a debutante director defied most norms of the typical Indian film, and made Aankhen. The film was about an ex-employee of a bank getting 3 blind men rob his former workplace. The concept was new and the film did farely well and was appreciated.
This time around, the same director, Vipul Shah, Amitabh Bachchan, and Akshay Kumar, team up in Waqt. I was looking forward to Vipul Shah’s second directorial venture, so does he live up to the expectations? Let’s see shall we!
Our story begins with Ishwar (Amitabh Bachchan) and his wife Sumi (Shefali Shah). They have a spoilt son Aditya (Akshay Kumar). They give in to all his demands, give him unconditional love, and even accept his secret marriage to his girlfriend (Priyanka Chopra) until one day something happens.
The generous and self-righteous Ishwar learns something that makes him realize that he needs to send his son away to be on his own. Aditya is confused that he is asked to leave his home.
So he learns to live on his own, and get a job to support his wife and child-to-be-born. The strong bond between Ishwar and Aditya is shattered, a family torn apart, but why?
The main story of Waqt is the the relationship between a father and his son. About 4 years ago, Ek Rishtaa had a similar theme. Luckily, most people may not try to notice the similarities, but the story is different because it also talks about the bonds between the family and their love to protect one another.
This time, we don’t have siblings in the middle of a family mess or problems with the family business. Its about children who trust their parents, but to what extent? Do children expect too much from their parents? Do parents have the time to listen to excuses of children when they make mistakes? Can all these problems be avoided as we mature?
Waqt is a good family drama and should fare well at the box office. Amitabh Bachchan is being more selective in 2005, and it shows. Its quality over quantity, and this actor continues to surprise in a role tailor-made for him.
Akshay Kumar has improved throughout the years, and its no surprise that he succeeds in playing his role. His on-screen chemistry with Priyanka is unavoidable and they always sizzle together in their roles.
Priyanka is another actress who seems to act well with certain stars, Akshay is one of them. Shefali Shah is refreshing as the mother (more-so than the typical filmi-mothers). Boman Irani and Rajpal Yadav are in top form to lighten the pace of the film.
Music by Anu Malik has grown on me over the last few weeks and the album is a must have. The picturizations of Subah Hogi, Do Me a Favour, and Chupp Jaa are quite good.
On the technical side, editing, and screenplay bring the movie together nicely. Also, the dialogues are realistic and the interaction between father and son are some of the highlights of the film.
Vipul Shah’s direction gets his message across about parents giving more responsibility to their children. The story moves much faster once the real drama begins in the second half. Overall, Waqt is the perfect family film with everything: drama, comedy, good performances, a good social theme so don’t forget to watch it with a relative.