Hindi Film Reviews 2005

Brief reviews of current Bollywood films as they appeared in the Independent Weekly.

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Black. Michelle McNally, a deaf and blind Anglo-Indian woman (Rani Mukherjee) struggles to conquer her isolation with the aid of a stubborn teacher. Hindi films never hesitate to adopt a good plot and refocus it through an Indian cultural lens. But the whole of The Miracle Worker occurs before the interval and the remaining half faces the complicated issues of family dynamics, the awakening sexual feelings of a young woman who knows she can never aspire to romantic love, and the reciprocation of her aging teacher’s long-ago gift of communication. The script was specifically written for towering film icon Amitabh Bachchan, and he clearly relishes the flamboyant part of Michelle’s eccentric teacher. But, the strongest impression is Mukherjee’s, an actress who has evolved from playing prim glamour girls into a compelling character actress. Clearly aspiring to an international art house audience with its extensive use of English dialogue and serious subject matter, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, best known for the musical extravaganza Devdas, takes a risk on this hybrid of “popular” (movie star cast) and “art” (songless) films.(03.30.05)

*

Bluffmaster Roy, an unflappable con man (Abhishek Bachchan) is jilted by his straight arrow girlfriend Simmi (Priyanka Chopra). In midst of personal crisis, he’s saddled with Dittu, an inept apprentice (Ritesh Deshmukh). Director Rohan Sippy is a childhood friend of his star; Rohan’s father, Ramesh, directed Abhishek’s father, Amitabh, in Sholay, often sited as everybody’s all time favorite Hindi film. Abhishek’s confidently subdued performance invites the energetic supporting cast to upstage him. Nana Patekar, one of Bollywood’s scariest villains, jolts the second half playing Roy’s deranged nemesis, who, instead of worshipping the image of a god, prays to himself in the mirror. The fab score by UK-based Trickbaby fuses 70s funk, remixed old Hindi film music, rap and Carl Orff. Abhishek even sings one of his own songs (instead of using a playback singer, as is usual) and “Right Here Right Now” both underscores a love scene and is replayed hilariously as a hip hop parody over the end credits. A layered puzzle box plot hints at countless caper films, with the Nicholas Cage Matchstick Men a major influence, but there are hints of the elder Sippy/Bachchans 1980 Shaan (a crucial scene plays out in front of Shaan on screen) and Dittu watches The Sting for inspiration. And, forget Matthew McConaughey, honey, Abhishek Bachchan is the Sexiest Man Alive.

*

Bride and Prejudice. British Director Gurinder Chadha (Bend it Like Beckham) transposes Jane Austen’s pastel colored Regency-era novel Pride and Prejudice, about a mothers quest to profitably marry off her daughters, to the saffron and fuchsia tinted Bollywood universe. Subtitled From Amritsar to L.A., this satirical culture clash showcases Aishwarya Rai in her first English language film. Hindi film clichés, the obsession with weddings, restrained sexuality (no kissing), extended family relationships, comic supporting characters (Nitin Ganatra gets the most laughs as an unsuitable suitor) and, of course, lavish musical numbers fit easily into this familiar plot. Chadha does Rai a great favor by casting her as the headstrong Lalitha, before she is ghettoized as a James Bond girl, the sort of role often awaiting a former Miss World in Hollywood. The director’s choice of Anglo heroes is a bit bloodless, though, with Martin Henderson and Daniel Gillies generating insufficient heat for the heroine. The music works best in the energetic early songs sung by the Bakshi sisters and their circle. This crossover film may be a bit uneven, but it’s still more satisfying than the average multiplex romantic comedy.(02.23.05)

*

Bunty aur Babli. When was the last time you saw a 3-hour movie that you wished would go on all night long? Bunty and Babli are a pair of Robin Hood-ish con artists, and their exuberant caper stretches along the railway lines from Lucknow to Bombay to the Taj Mahal—which they sell to a crass American businessman. Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee charm, bicker and fall in love in the usual romantic comedy way, but like a larcenous Nick and Nora Charles, their adventures are not curtailed by marriage. No one, but no one, is as cool as 62 year old Amitabh Bachchan (Abhishek’s real-life dad and filmi legend) as the wily cop in hot pursuit. Father and son tear up the dance floor in the mind-blowing “Kajra Re.” This is not an art film, but one that defines escapist fare, everything that a film like Oceans 11 or 12 wishes it was, but isn’t. If you have yet to experience the high-energy, family-friendly total entertainment package that is Hindi cinema, start here.(06.01.05)

*

Devdas. The doomed love between Devdas (Shah Rukh Khan) and his childhood sweetheart, Paro (Aishwarya Rai) and a beautiful courtesan’s (Madhuri Dixit) unrequited love for Devdas is recounted in an epic period romance. This classic of early 20th century Bengali literature echoes stories from Hindu mythology, and with its hero and heroines yearning across class and caste barriers, it is as well-known in India as Romeo and Juliet in the West. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali created a lush fantasy setting in the studio, reminiscent of the glory days of the MGM musical. The most expensive film ever made in India is a pleasure best enjoyed on the big screen. A stunning score highlights Rai and Dixit’s superb classically derived dancing. Khan is an unabashedly emotional actor in a decidedly non-Hollywood style and his self-destructive misery as Devdas dominates the gorgeous, irony-free, non-CGI spectacle of the sort that Western film has largely abandoned. (02.09.05)

*

Deewane Huye Paagal (The Madmen become Crazier) DWP suffers from second banana overload (does one need a movie with both Johnny Lever and Paresh Rawel?) a throw-away plot and a little too much of There’s Something About Mary. But, the two heroes, a shady motormouth detective named Rocky (Akshay Kumar) and Karan, a geeky college boy (doe-eyed Shahid Kapoor) are appealing, even if they never think to ask inoffensive heroine Rimmi Sen whom she prefers. By the end, she has close to a dozen suitors chasing her around scenic Dubai, not counting the underworld gundas in hot pursuit of Rimmi’s secret-carrying robotic parrot (don’t ask). The oft repeated number “Chakle, Chakle” cuts and pastes several recognizable Western dance beats, but then, an early gag is an outright steal from Abbott and Costello. There are a few energetic songs rasped by the composer, Anu Malik to keep the momentum flowing, and by the end, the ensemble of oddball characters are riffing on all cylinders. Ranking: Not as good as Garam Masala, but much better than Shaadi No.1 or No Entry. (12.07.05).

*

Dus (Ten) Sanjay Dutt commands the Delhi version of Homeland Security like a Daddy, not in the gruff Clint Eastwood manner, but with lots of hugs and tears. Smoldering Abhishek Bachchan and impish Zahed Khan are the alpha sons. Zahed has a great stunt on the roof of a speeding Taurus station wagon; Hindi films can be a bit obtuse about what, precisely, constitutes a cool car. They are joined by Shilpa Shetty, starting Emma Peel-ish but soon reduced to wrinkling her forehead at a computer screen. Sunil Shetty and Esha Deol’s subplots are completely disposable. The story—there’s a bomb, somewhere–is largely incomprehensible, with lots of fancy-schmanzy visuals. As usual, one suspect can be found amongst a throbbing night club crowd, although the best song, “Dus Bahane,” (“Ten Excuses”) is during the opening credits. This is the sort of movie where cars explode and the heroes, dressed in sharply cut suits, strut away in slo-mo to the sound of power guitars. Sanjay’s acting authority and Abhishek’s movie star gleam light up their respective scenes. Not up to the gold standard for silly action movies (that would be 2004’s Dhoom, also with Abhishek) but you could do worse.(7.19.05)

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*

Ek Ajanabee (The Stranger) Sixty-three year old superstar Amitabh Bachchan returns to his action hero roots with this tale of a retired commando, nursing a bit of post-traumatic stress, who is hired to protect a little girl from Bangkok kidnappers. Duped from Denzel Washington’s Man on Fire, slightly Indianized and edited in jittery Hollywood style, there’s a remarkable amount of sadistic violence for a Hindi film. Amitabh has never shied away from playing dark characters, and the audience is expected to reference his 1970s “angry young man” roles, when he exacted moral retribution for political injustices against the masses. But, no matter how cute little Rucha Vaidya is, it’s different to wreak vengeance on behalf of the rich, rather than the poor. Pretty Arjun Rampal tries to act gangsta as the hero’s old army buddy, and Kelly Dorji adds authority as a complicit Bangkok cop. Always worth watching, Amitabh is styled in sharp-cut suits and cool shades, and means business when he dons Converse high tops, footwear of choice for the older action hero. (12.16.05).

*

Garam Masala (Hot Spice) Bollywood’s Swinging Sixties sex comedy archeology continues with a remake of Boeing Boeing, a 1965 farce starring Tony Curtis and Jerry Lewis. The formerly glamorous profession of foreign correspondent has been replaced by fashion photographer, and the Boeing heroes by Akshay Kumar and John Abraham as the flirtatious pair juggling meticulously scheduled romances with airline hostesses. Boeing’s plot and even the main set are mimicked, and Paresh Rawel plays Thelma Ritter’s slow burns with ease, although the girls, as usual, are interchangeable starlets. The big surprise is the energy with which the heroes throw themselves into some wild physical comedy (they’re dancers, after all, who can do their own pratfalls) and on the non-air conditioned Mumbai sound stages, the sweat is real, too. Akshay’s relaxed and funny, and John amusingly plays his part, not with easy charm, but unexpectedly with low cunning. They even give a bit of a homoerotic edge to their love-hate battles, a 60s no-no. Comedies from the dawn of the American sexual revolution were about male desire only, a mindset currently reflected in India’s slowly Westernizing mores. Curtis and Lewis coldly discarded one group of “fiancées” when they got too troublesome, but, improving on its source, the Garam heroes aren’t let off so easily. (11.08.05)

Akshay and John

Jerry and Tony

*

Kaal. National Geographic conservationist John Abraham and his scantily clad wife, Esha Deol, probe a man-eating tiger rampage in India’s fictional Orbit National Park. They encounter adventurer Vivek Oberoi, his girlfriend (Lara Dutta) and some expendable supporting players during their trek through the wild. Death by montage follows. This attempt at a Hollywood-style “don’t go into the woods” horror film (2 hours long, with songs only during the credits) references numerous precedents, including a scene evoking a youthful trauma of mine, triggered by The Omen. The homage to the killer rabbit in Monty Python and the Holy Grail is doubtless an inadvertent one. The dimwit lead characters are flimsy stereotypes, and the actors are not talented enough to imbue them with any personality or sympathy as they are stalked by kaal, the time of their death. The film is barely redeemed by Ajay Devgan’s spooky performance as a mysterious guide and the electrifying opening number in a glittery jungledisco starring Bollywood’s #1 star, (and co-producer) Shah Rukh Khan. (05.11.05)

*

Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (Why Did I Fall in Love?) Hollywood has not yet remade 1969’s Cactus Flower, with Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn in her Oscar winning role. But, director David Dhawan, Bollywood’s master of frantic comedy, has updated this farce about a philandering dentist (here, orthopedist) his faithful nurse and young mistress with glamorous stars Salman Khan, (former Miss Universe) Sushmita Sen, Katrina Kaif and Arshad Warshi as the hero’s best friend. MPKK imports its source’s plot and dialogue, even dressing Katrina Kaif in Goldie Hawn’s baby doll pjs for the opening scene, then ramps up the speed. Blankly pretty Katrina (Salman’s real-life girlfriend) is completely inept, and as a non-Hindi speaker, her voice is dubbed by another actress. Goldie Hawn’s ditzy creation was the heart of the earlier film, and the story’s balance isinverted when the character is played as a standard issue ingénue. An unusually relaxed Salman amusingly riffs on his own Don Juan reputation, and goofs with his actor-producer brother Sohail; their home-grown chemistry is charming. But, the visiting mother from Punjab subplot is shrill, the post interval section drags a bit and Arshad Warshi desperately needs more screen time. He deserves his own movie with Sushmita Sen; he’s funny and he can dance! In Cactus Flower, when the cast went to the Slipped Disc disco, they hullabalooed awkwardly to a turgid cover of the Monkees’ “I’m a Believer.” Sushmita shimmying in her orange sari in the rain to “Lagaa Lagaa Re” is a vast improvement. (08.06.05)

*

Mangal Pandey—The Rising. The Indian subcontinent was already chafing under colonialism when, in 1857, the British introduced a new rifle to the Sepoy troops. The officers’ disregard of the soldiers’objections to biting off the end of the cartridge, greased with animal fats violating both Hindu and Muslim dietary laws, before loading the rifle, triggered an insurgency led by infantryman Mangal Pandey. The most anticipated Bollywood film of 2005 has been gestating for four years, the first project of actor-producer Aamir Khan since he managed what no Indian movie maker had done since 1957, an Oscar nomination for Lagaan (2001). Director Ketan Mehta and writer Farrukh Dhondy used their imaginations to create characters from the scarce detail of the (often British) historical record, in this ambitious epic thankfully lacking sadistic bloodshed. The official versions of the “Sepoy Rebellion” (or First Indian War of Independence) are appallingly racist, some imply Mangal Pandey became a revolutionary only accidentially, because he was high on bhang (a drink distilled from marijuana) and some British reviews have been quite huffy about the revisionist history. Aamir Khan dominates the film with his fiery title performance, but he’s well matched by English actor Toby Stephens (the son of actors Maggie Smith and Robert Stephens). Stephens worked hard on his Hindi, although his Scottish accent wavers during his English dialogue. Mangal Pandey‘s core is this unlikely friendship between a British officer and his subordinate, two thoughtful men struggling with their respective class/caste divisions. Itinerant musicians evoke the folk songs that preserved Mangal Pandey’s story for the masses and the best number, sung by a prostitute reflecting on the treachery of men, is strikingly intercut with Mangal’s soul searching over his role in Empire. Not quite as perfect as Lagaan, it’s saddled with a clumsy performance by starlet Amisha Patel as a widow saved from her husband’s funeral pyre (the British outlawed the tradtion of sutee) one of several underdeveloped subplots. Ostensibly a patriotic rabble rouser, the film contains a subversive political message. The British East India Company, and its occupation of India, has a direct contemporary parallel to Halliburton et al. and the presence of the American Army in Iraq. No mainstream Hollywood film would dare draw this comparison. So this time, Aamir may have to kiss his Oscar hopes good bye.(08.17.05)

*

Mughal-e-Azam (Age of the Mughals) This beloved 1960 Hindi film classic has been re-released in a colorized version for a new generation. Dilip Kumar, a top romantic star of the 1950s, is the playboy Prince Salim, son of the Emperor Akbar (1555-1605). Salim’s obsession with a beautiful slave girl, Anarkali, (Madhubala) enrages his autocratic father, provoking an intergenerational war. Akbar is played by Prithviraj Kapoor, the Bollywood patriarch of three generations of Indian movie stars, whose career dates back to the silent era. While Kumar’s yearning passion is a bit cool for modern tastes, his seduction of Anarkali by caressing her face with a feather is still considered the most erotic in classic Hindi cinema. Some of the stately Mughal-e-Azam (a hugely expensive superproduction which took a decade to make it to the screen) was originally filmed in color, including an astonishing dance by Madhubala in a set completely covered by fragmented mirrors.(04.13.05)

*

No Entry. Henpecked husband Anil Kapoor is convinced by his horndog friend, Salman Khan, to lie to his suspicious wife and dally with Bobby, a sultry nightclub dancer, in this headache-inducing farce. The two leading men are twice the age of their jailbait-ish significant others, played amateurishly as either shrill and/or stupid by Lara Dutta and Esha Deol. Fardeen Khan and Celina Jaitley complete a trio of irritating couples. This is the sort of film in which escalating lies drive the characters to schemes of increasingly frantic desperation, when a bit of truth would have solved everything, most importantly, shortening this painfully unfunny comedy. Forced to select one barely adequate performance, the prize would have to go to pin-up girl Bipasha Basu as Bobby, who manages to convey a bit of level-headed exasperation with the proceedings. At first, I was not going to post my extremely negative review of No Entry. But, as this has inexplicably become the top box office hit of the year in India, it seemed a serious omission. It’s not even funny/bad, like Kaal. No entry, please. (09.15.05)

*

Paheli (Riddle) A village girl is deserted by her husband on their wedding night, but a enamored ghost eagerly takes his place. This folk tale is retold by noted contemporary novelist Vijaydan Detha and art film director Amol Palekar, making his first foray into commercial cinema. Paheli incorporates elements of Rajasthani theater, European fairy tales, the Arabian Nights and a smidgen of Bewitched. In this rigidly patriarchal society, the ghost’s most enchanting power is asking the heroine what she wants. Set in the parched deserts, where water is a metaphor for both wealth and sexual desire, Paheli’s lush cinematography features extravagant historical costumes as well as a rowdy camel race. Palekar blends the sensibilities of an independent film with the acting chops of certified movie stars, versatile Rani Mukherjee and Shah Rukh Khan. Shah Rukh is Bollywood’s most bankable actor, but he has clearly been stung by criticism that his screen characters are monotonous; he effectively plays the dual role of a fusspot merchant and the dream lover sans some of his more flamboyant mannerisms.(06.30.05).

*

Parineeta (The Married Woman). This tale of childhood sweethearts torn asunder is based on a poetic Bengali story written in 1914 by Devdas author Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay and updated to glamorous 1960s Calcutta. Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan) is a sulky, Elvis-loving musician reluctant to join his father’s business and Lolita (Vidya Balan) the irresistible girl next door. Sanjay Dutt completes the love triangle as a kind hearted, London-based entrepreneur. A crisis is provoked when Lolita’s heavily mortgaged mansion is coveted by Shekhar’s father, and the lovers must choose between loyalty to their families, or to each other, a frequent trauma in Bollywood films. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra and director Pradeep Sarkar have lavished attention on the cinematography and sumptuous period production design. The music evolves naturally, from the hero’s piano keys, at a wedding, a religious ceremony and most memorably in the ritzy Moulin Rouge nightclub as the ageless Rekha dances to the best song, Kaisi Paheli Zindigani.(a wholesale copy of “A Kiss to Build a Dream On” most famously sung by Louis Armstrong).Understated acting is considered superior to the large scale emotions often on display in Hindi films, and all three leads acquit themselves admirably, but their restraint drains the film of some needed emotional fire. (06.16.05)

*

Salaam Namaste A celebrity chef (Saif Ali Khan) and a radio personality (Preity Zinta) meet cute in Melbourne, Australia, after he oversleeps their on-air interview. Nick is the familiar rom-com boy-man who refuses to grow up, and like a Hollywood movie (the source material is Nine Months) the couple, are, for all intents and purposes, orphans. Also novel for Hindi film is their premarital co-habitation, along with kissing, a discreet bedroom scene and plenty of co-ed skin exposure. Salaam…illustrates the sweet and sour ramifications of the Western NRI (non-resident Indian) lifestyle, unmoored from family and tradition. Nick and Ambar’s no strings pairing contrasts with Nick’s best friend (the delightful Arshad Warshi) and his impulsive marriage to a mouthy Australian. Arshad’s wry Ron is welcome relief from Nick and Ambar’s post-interval screeching fights (as is Javed Jaffrey’s Crocodile Dundee-ish landlord) until at last the slapstick finale arrives, bringing an uninhibited star cameo. Frothy Salaam… banks on Saif’s proven comic allure with peppery Preity, Bollywood’s #2 Princess. But it’s also a cautionary tale about the risks, when, as one song puts it, “My Dil (Heart) Goes Mmmm.” (09.15.05)

*

Sarkar (Boss) Sarkar, in iconoclastic director Ram Gopal Varma’s tribute to The Godfather, runs not just an Indian crime syndicate but an extra constitutional government. In fact, “sarkar” means both boss and government, a usage dating from the days when the village council patriarch was the law. Sarkar resembles a Hollywood crime film, with its crackerjack editing, stylized sepia-saturated color, crashing sound design and a swiftly moving story told by looming close-ups and MTV style montage, rather than the Hindi film staples of meandering character development (as in many such Western films, the female characters exist only in relation to the men) and song. Amitabh Bachchan uses his gravitas skillfully to play Sarkar, whose side-line of thug-fuelled public service seems like a waste of time to his cold-blooded young rivals. Abhishek, Amitabh’s real-life son, plays the Michael Corleone part, and steals the movie with his brooding gangster cool. In fact, there’s nothing wrong with Sarkar, other than that someone who’s seen a lot of crime films might think they’ve seen it all before.(07.06.05)

*

Shaadi No. 1 (Marriage No.1) Three “good girls” withhold sex from their husbands, prompting the boys to shirk the respectability of their arranged marriages in pursuit of three mini-skirted hootchie-mamas. David Dhawan directs a comic trifle which could have been worse, simply a copycat of the annoying No Entry, India’s biggest box office hit of the year. Shaadi No.1 is jampacked with hit or miss jokes and half a dozen loud and catchy songs. Zayed Khan, Fardeen Khan and Sharman Joshi are a trio of overactive puppy dogs begging you to love them, as each one schemes to add a babe to the family circle as a co-wife. The six actresses are all talentless and personality-free pin-up girls. Dhawan favorite Sanjay Dutt tosses off a part beneath his dignity, as a meddlesome relative of dubious origin, but does loosen up for his two big dance numbers. (11.08.05)

*

Swades. A NASA engineer returns to India seeking a reunion with the nanny who raised him and becomes entangled in the day to day life of a rural village. The dynamic Shah Rukh Khan delivers an understated performance, in spite of a limp debut by starlet Gayatri Joshi, resulting in his having to do all the emotional heavy lifting. Expectations were high for this second film written and directed by Ashutosh Gowariker, whose first, Lagaan (2001) was the first Indian film nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar since 1957. Swades gets a bit preachy at times, burdened with an agenda of community empowerment, but the scene where the hero telecommutes on his fancy Apple laptop through the village’s sole phone line, illuminated by the glow of his screen and an oil lamp, speaks volumes. The score is by Bollywood’s top composer, A. R. Rahman. (01.27.05)

*

Veer-Zaara. This swoony Bollywood romance is directed by Yash Chopra in the classic style by which he’s defined the Hindi love film for over 40 years. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan commands the screen as Indian Army helicopter pilot Veer Pratap Singh, whose passion for Zaara, the daughter of a Pakistani politician, triggers a crisis of forbidden love. The film is steeped in nostalgia for the picturesque Punjab region of India, and carries timely messages of pre-Partition brotherhood. Khan’s co-stars are perhaps the most talented young actresses in Bollywood, Priety Zinta, who sparkles as the headstrong Zaara, and Rani Mukherjee as a determined young Pakistani attorney trying her first case. The screenplay by Yash Chopra’s son, Aditya (who made Shah Rukh Khan India’s #1 filmi hero almost 10 years ago) is filled with warmth, humor and, of course, plenty of tears. At or near the top of every Best of Bollywood list this year. (01.19.05)

*

Viruddh (Versus) A retired middle-class couple (Amitabh Bachchan and Sharmila Tagore) with a grown son (John Abraham) face tragedy and seek justice against a corrupt government system. Viruddh depicts a senior version of Amitabh’s “angry young man”, the avatar who gained fame fighting injustice on Indian movie screens during the politically turbulent 1970s. Evoking Amitabh’s breakthrough starring role in Zanjeer (1973), his steadfast friend is an auto mechanic with a dubious background (Sanjay Dutt). The film rekindles a romantic chemistry between Amitabh and his elegant former co-star, who vividly portrays an ex-school principal coping with unexpected heartbreak. Writer-director Mahesh Manjrekar specializes, as an actor, in overplaying jittery psychopaths. Behind the camera, he shows restraint, even coaxing a performance out of John Abraham, who usually poses rather than acts. Viruddh isn’t visually flashy, there are no songs, the ending is slack, it’s a tear jerker (albeit an uplifting one) but Amitabh and Sharmila deliver. Remarkably, Hindi films continue to supply meaty roles for an actor in his early 60s; this summer alone he’s starred as a ruthless gang lord and a quirky policeman. If Hollywood had an actor of Amitabh’s stature, would they do the same? (07.26.05)

*

Waqt—The Race Against Time. The spoiled son of a wealthy toy manufacturer is forced to assume his family responsibilities after Dad opts for some tough love. Popular cinema is all about the pleasure of watching movie stars. There is none greater than India’s Amitabh Bachchan. Now in his early 60s, Bachchan continues to inspire Bollywood’s best writers and directors, as he has for over 30 years. Waqt relishes both his comic and dramatic chops, and showcases his eccentric dancing style in two big songs, one set in a goofy filmi disco and another at a wedding. Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra are appealing as the romantic couple. Hollywood films prefer the struggle of rebellious youth, but parent and child points of view get equal weight in Bollywood. Some things in Hindi films can never be explained, (why does Akshay make his entrance on a camel?) but the lapses in logic, flimsily motivated songs (“Have you ever dreamed of going to Morocco?”) are not the point. Waqt is about family ties, about smiles and tears, and most of all, it’s about Amitabh. (04.27.05).

c.Moviediva2005