Let me admit - when I went for the movie I had NO clue that it was based on politics and that there would be so much ’maara-maari’ in it. And no, I did NOT expect a ’DCH’. I thought it would be a fun movie - sugary sweet types. So I was stunned when the movie begins with a shootout ! will not talk about the story. More important are the characters.
Abhishek bacchan plays ’lallan’ - a ’’bad boy’’ who has been in enough trouble with the law but ’’kutte ki dum hamesha tedhi hoti hai’’ types ! he is a person whos anger is to the point of rage and he does not even think twice before physically harming anyone - his wife, his enemies, his brother (who is also a ruffian). i’d expected that on hearing that his wife has gone in for an abortion, he would turn over a new leaf...par afsos...he is back to square one...although his becoming a ’’good guy’’ would have been a happy ending, I guess mani ratnam wanted to depict reality. I mean, people who are as ruthless and ’’no regrets’’ like lallan would not suddenly become mr. nice guy...
Rani is shashi - lallan;s wife and is shown a typical bengali lady with bengali-style saris with bunch of keys at end et al. The scene where she snaps at the TC in the train is brilliant especially since no one expects her to react that way. she is ’’mera pati mera parmeshwar’’ - loves him despite his violent nature and is with him till almost the very end...I guess towards the end her patience runs out and she gives up on him - not out of choice, but by circumstance.
Ajay devgan is michael who is an idealist who firmly believes that even one person can change the world. And he believes that he can be that one person. He fights for his cause and for justice and wants to get more youth into the system to help clean it up. He questions the existing political scenario and encourages his friends and supporters (a HUGE bunch) to join him in his revolt against the ’’bad guys’’ (Om Puri and cronies)
Vivek oberoi is arjun - a casanova who flirts like there is no tomorrow with kareena who plays meera. He is a person who never takes anything seriously and his sole aim in life is to settle down in the US (sigh...brain drain !!!) but then his chance meeting with michael (he is the person who helps save michael’s life) forces him to think about his motherland and he gives up on his american dream and joins michael in his cause.
kareena is supposed to marry a ’’kanpuriya’’ but then arjun ka teer nishane pe lagta hai and she abandons her ’’would-have-been’’ husband for arjun.
Esha deol is radhika - she is a bengali girl who has known michael through her uncle and aunt and has been romantically involved with him without any of the elders knowing about it. She supports michael and gang in their running for the elections.
The cinematography is brilliant and all the characters look very real - in terms of their ’look’, costumes and so on. There is toooo much violence - fist blows and kicks - not the ’satya’ and ’company’ genre. Music is catchy but the songs are more hummable than ’’singable’’.
The first half is better than the second half which seems to drag a bit - especially the violence-wala scene in the climax between the 3 heroes.
The abhishek - rani pair is the best in terms of the characterisation and chemistry. Abhishek is brilliant and made me wonder what went wrong with him in all his earlier movies ! the vivek-kareena romance is slightly silly and ’filmy’ although the bus scene was cute. Ajay-esha dont seem believable enough as a couple.
If you have seen roja and bombay, you probably will expect this to be even more brilliant (like I did)...and if you go to the hall with such expectations, you will be slightly let down.