Producer : Yash Chopra
]Director: Kunal Kohli
Writer: Shibani Bathija
Stars: Aamir Khan, Kajol, Tabu, Jaspal Bhatty, Lara Datta, Ali Haji, Sanaya Irani and others
Writer: Shibani Bathija
Stars: Aamir Khan, Kajol, Tabu, Jaspal Bhatty, Lara Datta, Ali Haji, Sanaya Irani and others
Release Date: 26 May 2006 (India)
Genres: Drama | Musical | Romance | Thriller
Genres: Drama | Musical | Romance | Thriller
With a title like Fanaa and a cut line like 'destroyed in love' one wondered the kind of love story that was going to unfold as the film began. But our wonderment soon turned to disappointment, except for enjoying the two veteran lead players, Aamir Khan and Kajol, who manage to hold a weak script and lame characterizations together with astounding performances that add credibility to otherwise incredible characters of fiction.
Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher play the sweet parents of lovely Zooni (Kajol), who is quite at terms with her disability. She is blind but high on life and love, waiting for her 'shehzaada' to arrive. Her shehzaada arrives on her Delhi visit as flirtatious guide Rehan (Aamir Khan). The charming shaayri ranting loveable Rehan took me back to the impish Dilnawaz of Deepa Mehta’s 1947 Earth, but instead of the “husna ki chaki chaali” style of winning hearts, this charmer is today’s Delhi-ite, pretty sure of himself, though falling in love slowly and steadily, much against his own will and mind. As the love story progresses, romance happens, though Rehan is pretty verbose of his non-committal and philandering nature (Lara Dutta makes a brief appearance explaining this side of the hero to the heroine). But Zooni has faith in her love and wins over Rehan. But does she?
It would not be unfair on our part to reveal in this review that the lead character Rehan is a terrorist, which we learn at the interval point of the film. The reason why it is important to begin with Rehan’s character and his motives is because the story revolves around him and his love for a blind girl, whom he has chanced upon on one of his terrorist missions, which the film begins with. However, Rehan is a very difficult man to understand, since the causative factor that drove him to terrorism is something that the film fails to remotely touch upon or address in any form whatsoever. For that matter, what generally drives people to terrorism is an aspect never touched upon throughout the film; and for a film that deals with IKF and Azaad Kashmir with the vested interest of both Pakistan and India as its very background around which the story revolves, few and far between news reports, RAW and Anti-Terrorist Cell discussions in closed rooms and some political involvement is certainly not sufficient. What spoils things further is the scant regard for human life and emotion that Rehan displays. However, Zooni, a woman in love who has suddenly found not only love in this charming guide in Delhi but also her vision (an operation brings back her eyesight, but of course, before she gets to see the face of her love), is ironically blind when it comes to realizing that her love is a ruthless killing machine with little emotion and truly unworthy of any human liking on a sane level. This dawns upon her only when things are black and white, towards the very end, while there are innumerable instances strewn throughout the story which goes to show that her disability is not only her blindness, but her blind faith in Rehan. This is the major flaw of an otherwise well executed film and this flaw is so overbearing and in your face through all the brilliantly acted emotional scenes between Aamir and Kajol, that you just can’t buy into their characters’ relationship. Furthermore, complicating matters is the complete absence of redemption on the part of Rehan who till the very last frame is driven to completing his mission at any cost. The cost, this review will not get into as it will divulge too much of the film and may spoil the proceedings for those who would yet want to see Aamir and Kajol paired together for the first time (Ishq brought them together but opposite Juhi Chawla and Ajay Devgan respectively).
On the positive side, the film is very well produced and technically flawless. The visuals are clean and picture-book (cinematography Ravi Chandran). The background score (Salim-Suleiman) is apt for the film, not making its presence felt but fuelling the narrative. The comic timing in the first half displayed not just by Aamir and Kajol but even by Jaspal Bhati as Jolly Good Singh and Sharad Saxena, head of the Anti-Terrorist Cell, who comes in the second half of the film, is perfect. The use of silence, which is rare in Hindi cinema, between the lead players in the second half is commendable and words are spoken through performance, expressions and reactions with little of the spoken word or background music. The film has its share of memorable scenes such as Rehan’s unexpected return to Zooni’s life in the second half, the pre-interval sequence, and many emotional moments between Rehan and Zooni.
The film has some memorable poetry exchanges between Aamir and Kajol which itself has strong repeat value for die-hard Aamir and Kajol fans and the stars’ fan base is so huge that the box office of this film for Yash Raj Films is destined to break records. But one wishes that the script would have been developed with a degree of logic imbibed into the otherwise critical issues that the film touches upon, but doesn’t really address in any form. Still this film is worth a watch if for nothing else than for the outstanding performances by Aamir and Kajol and their chemistry.
Rishi Kapoor and Kirron Kher play the sweet parents of lovely Zooni (Kajol), who is quite at terms with her disability. She is blind but high on life and love, waiting for her 'shehzaada' to arrive. Her shehzaada arrives on her Delhi visit as flirtatious guide Rehan (Aamir Khan). The charming shaayri ranting loveable Rehan took me back to the impish Dilnawaz of Deepa Mehta’s 1947 Earth, but instead of the “husna ki chaki chaali” style of winning hearts, this charmer is today’s Delhi-ite, pretty sure of himself, though falling in love slowly and steadily, much against his own will and mind. As the love story progresses, romance happens, though Rehan is pretty verbose of his non-committal and philandering nature (Lara Dutta makes a brief appearance explaining this side of the hero to the heroine). But Zooni has faith in her love and wins over Rehan. But does she?
It would not be unfair on our part to reveal in this review that the lead character Rehan is a terrorist, which we learn at the interval point of the film. The reason why it is important to begin with Rehan’s character and his motives is because the story revolves around him and his love for a blind girl, whom he has chanced upon on one of his terrorist missions, which the film begins with. However, Rehan is a very difficult man to understand, since the causative factor that drove him to terrorism is something that the film fails to remotely touch upon or address in any form whatsoever. For that matter, what generally drives people to terrorism is an aspect never touched upon throughout the film; and for a film that deals with IKF and Azaad Kashmir with the vested interest of both Pakistan and India as its very background around which the story revolves, few and far between news reports, RAW and Anti-Terrorist Cell discussions in closed rooms and some political involvement is certainly not sufficient. What spoils things further is the scant regard for human life and emotion that Rehan displays. However, Zooni, a woman in love who has suddenly found not only love in this charming guide in Delhi but also her vision (an operation brings back her eyesight, but of course, before she gets to see the face of her love), is ironically blind when it comes to realizing that her love is a ruthless killing machine with little emotion and truly unworthy of any human liking on a sane level. This dawns upon her only when things are black and white, towards the very end, while there are innumerable instances strewn throughout the story which goes to show that her disability is not only her blindness, but her blind faith in Rehan. This is the major flaw of an otherwise well executed film and this flaw is so overbearing and in your face through all the brilliantly acted emotional scenes between Aamir and Kajol, that you just can’t buy into their characters’ relationship. Furthermore, complicating matters is the complete absence of redemption on the part of Rehan who till the very last frame is driven to completing his mission at any cost. The cost, this review will not get into as it will divulge too much of the film and may spoil the proceedings for those who would yet want to see Aamir and Kajol paired together for the first time (Ishq brought them together but opposite Juhi Chawla and Ajay Devgan respectively).
On the positive side, the film is very well produced and technically flawless. The visuals are clean and picture-book (cinematography Ravi Chandran). The background score (Salim-Suleiman) is apt for the film, not making its presence felt but fuelling the narrative. The comic timing in the first half displayed not just by Aamir and Kajol but even by Jaspal Bhati as Jolly Good Singh and Sharad Saxena, head of the Anti-Terrorist Cell, who comes in the second half of the film, is perfect. The use of silence, which is rare in Hindi cinema, between the lead players in the second half is commendable and words are spoken through performance, expressions and reactions with little of the spoken word or background music. The film has its share of memorable scenes such as Rehan’s unexpected return to Zooni’s life in the second half, the pre-interval sequence, and many emotional moments between Rehan and Zooni.
The film has some memorable poetry exchanges between Aamir and Kajol which itself has strong repeat value for die-hard Aamir and Kajol fans and the stars’ fan base is so huge that the box office of this film for Yash Raj Films is destined to break records. But one wishes that the script would have been developed with a degree of logic imbibed into the otherwise critical issues that the film touches upon, but doesn’t really address in any form. Still this film is worth a watch if for nothing else than for the outstanding performances by Aamir and Kajol and their chemistry.