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Planet Bollywood Review
Producer: K.C. Bokadia
Director: K. S. Adhiyaman
Starring: Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Salman Khan
Music: Nikhil- Vinay, Sajid-Wajid, Nadeem-Shravan
Lyrics: Sameer, Praveen Bhardwaj, Kartik Awastha
Genre: Emotional Romantic Social Drama
Recommended Audience: General
Released on: May 24, 2002
Reviewer's Rating: 6 out of 10
The publicity and curiosity gathered around Hum Tumhare Hai
Sanam wasn’t for its cast, much less for its music, but for
constant postponements of its release date. One was hoping
that the producers and presenters were taking time to add a
classy touch to this already stale film but alas no. However,
one can sigh because at long last this movie has seen the day.
Whether it’s worth the wait is another matter. Actually, the
movie isn’t all that bad but considering the more than ample
time given to the director, he should have come up with
something more realistic and gripping. If not seen from a
critical point of view, the film can manage to surpass one’s
low expectations but finally ends up being another case of
“could have been so much more”.
In such cases, it’s expected that the script is the stumbling
block and the technical aspects being the saving grace. Here
it’s vice-versa. The script does offer some shades of
originality, which prevents the film from looking very much
stale but visually it doesn’t help. Salman’s constant change
of haircut (or was he running bald?!) will testify that. The
person to blame for this is none other than the producer K.C
Bokadia. It’s understandable that he went bankrupt during the
making of the movie but some scenes badly deserved to be
re-shot.
The basic premise of the film is very simple. In a nutshell,
Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam shows the tribulations encountered by a
couple, Gopal and Radha (Shah Rukh and Madhuri), after their
marriage. The main source of problem is Radha’s best friend
Suraj (Salman Khan), who Gopal sees as someone trying to get
too close to his wife. In the end, he accuses his wife of
infidelity despite the lack of any concrete evidence and
forces her to leave the house. Once separated, a sea of
turmoil engulfs Gopal which way the tide turns in the lives of
Gopal, Radha and Suraj forms the end of this sentimental
drama.
The movie works very well at times particularly in the first
half where the story moves at even pace and some light moments
thrown in by Shah Rukh manage to break the tensed atmosphere.
The introduction of the three main protagonists has been done
in the simplest of manner leaving the viewer in anticipation
of what will happen next. With much dismay, what follows is
nothing but an anticlimax. The scenes drag after the
intermission and need to be placed on the editing table again.
Be it the dialogues by Shah Rukh Khan or the message the film
carries, the second half works more as a documentary. It lacks
the gripping factor and as a result turns out to be very
boring.
Had the film been released a few years earlier, the screenplay
could have been hailed as one of the most innovative for a
Bollywood film. At some places, it makes the viewer think and
ask himself whether separation does any good to people
involved. As it is, it follows the same path as Karobaar,
which means, it has faded with time. The impact left by the
screenplay isn’t what it was meant to be. From a realistic
viewpoint, divorces and legal separation are very much common
nowadays so much so that the film won’t be able to create any
waves in people’s hearts.
Fortunately for the film and to his own credit, K. Adhiyaman
doesn’t suffer as a director. It’s unanimous that he possesses
talent and I wonder how better he could have been had he
worked with a more competent producer. Just watch the two
scenes following the “Taron Ka Chamakta” song and you’ll
understand what I mean. He also deserves mention for not
dwelling into unnecessary pre-marriage romantic scenes. The
flip side though is that he lacks a bit of consistency and
logic. At times, he throws the cap too far concerning the
Suraj/Radha relationship, which itself isn’t much developed.
He could have also improved the untwisted simple climax and
turn it into something more exciting. Nonetheless directing
three superstars is a big deal and in my opinion, he has done
a good job.
The editors will be cursed by a large section of the public
for chopping off “Khoye Khoye Din Hai”, arguably the best song
on the soundtrack. None of the songs in the movie, except
perhaps for “Sab Kuch Bhoola Diya”, gel with the proceedings.
The title track comes across unexpectedly and bad choreography
in “Main Aagaya” makes the song a loser. Farah Khan and Ganesh
Acharya’s dance steps range from average to mediocre.
Technically, the film is no great shakes. Cinematography by
Anandh Kumar is below average stuff much because of the poor
integration with the story. The camera shifts to an unknown
location for the title song and later comes back again to
square one. Bad move! Costumes and outfits are spectacular and
more importantly they gel well with the sets of the movie. The
outfit worn by Salman Khan during the song “Taron Ka Chamakta”
(white suit and black shirt) is awesome. Background music by
Uttam Singh is a bit too light at times and fails to create
the deserved impact. Dialogues by Reema Raakesh Nath are good.
Shah Rukh’s role is broadly restricted to being a jealous
husband but he manages to add more depth to his character and
succeeds in leaving a mark. Such roles should be tailor made
for SRK, as he’s one of the few actors who have the ability to
make the audience care for his character despite having
negative shades in it. He is also one of the most expressive
actors in the industry, letting his eyes and mouth do the
talking. His good screen presence is further proved when he
hogs the frame when opposite both Madhuri and Salman. Finally,
he shows some sparks of brilliance in his short drunkard role,
which is a foretaste of what we’re going to see with Devdas.
Salman Khan once again disappoints. His character gives him
much more room than Shah Rukh to act and yet he fails to do
justice to it. His facial expressions and body language are
rock bottom and he needs to work on these. The main problem
with Salman Khan is that he is so disinterested in his work
that it’s very much obvious on screen. But then, Salman has
never improved as an actor since his Khamoshi days. Despite
portraying the “good guy” role in the film, most of the
audience’s sympathy will go towards Shah Rukh Khan simply
because Salman fails to add a sensible touch and creativity to
this character.
Madhuri is Madhuri, 24 gold carat as always. When she is good
in duds like Yeh Raaste Hai Pyaar Ke, you can expect her to
give her best in movies like these. She is at ease while
acting with both heroes and looks stunning throughout the
movie. She emotes very well and Amisha Patel needs a few
lessons from her as how to cry in movies.
Atul Agnihotri gets annoying with his Amitabh Bachchan episode
while Suman Ranganathan is wasted. Alok Nath and Aruna Irani
are both passable in short roles.
Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam isn’t anywhere near the masterpiece
level, and frankly I don’t think it had such aspirations being
in the making for such a long time, but it’s better than the
recent products Bollywood has been churning out recently (AMALL,
Ab Ke Baras). Low expectations will work in the film’s favour
and who knows, it may be a winner at the box
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