Dil Jo Bhi Kahey

Article Updated 26 September, 2005 12:18:42 PM IST

Dil Jo Bhi Kahey

This love story has a fresh look because of a new pair in the main lead but it lacks the fire and passion, despite the parental opposition! Otherwise it is a routine love story set in a foreign location. Of course, the new pair is backed by a heavyweight, Amitabh Bachchan, and to a certain extent, Revathy. The foreign locales add to the look.

Jai (Karan Sharma), an Indian living in Mauritius, falls in love with Sophie (Annabelle), a Mauritian. They are studying in the same college in Stockholm. While Jai's father Shekhar (Amitabh Bachchan) is liberal and approves of the relationship, his mom Sandhya (Revathy), an orthodox woman, isn't comfortable with the idea of having an English daughter-in-law. Sophie's father is against Indians so he's against this match. But her mother supports her.

The two decide to elope and get married. Sandhya has a heart attack and like in most Hindi films, Jai decides to ditch Annabelle. He also agrees to marry the girl of his mother's choice. She's an Indian doctor (Bhoomika Chawla), who saves his mother's life. Of course, all's well that ends well. The lovers unite and film is over. But you don't walk home with memories of the film.

The film also has a lot of unwanted situations. The one that stands out is Annabelle inviting Jai and his parents over for dinner and then revealing to her parents that they are in love and want to get married. This will be shocking to any parent with a closed mind. Obviously Jai's mother and Annabelle's father don't take this well at all.

There's a showdown of sorts which could have been easily avoided. Here Annabelle scores over the hero, who looks like a meek, submissive creature. He's just an onlooker while she does the grand declaration. He also lacks fire when he meekly decides to ditch Annabelle and marry Bhumika Chawla.

The music and choreography, except for the title track, is okay. This is bad for a love story, which relies heavily on good numbers. Cinematography is good.

Now for the performances. Karan is decent looking. He also seems sincere about his work. But his makeup and wardrobe needs a lot of attention.

Annabelle looks like a dumb blonde in the first few scenes but gradually comes across as a strong woman who knows her mind. She is pretty, confident, and acts well. But there's hardly any chemistry between the two.

Mr. Bachchan is good. Revathy is good but her character feels a little out of place in the place where the film is set. She also comes across as a slightly melodramatic character.

Bhumika Chawla is excellent in a small role.

Annabelle's parents, especially the father, have great screen presence. Romesh Sharma is okay.

The heroine, Annabelle, speaks in English (thank God for that, it's makes her look real as opposed to a foreigner mouthing Hindi dialogues). However, the hero too breaks into English very often (understandable!), although there is a 'sutradar' who narrates the scenes in Hindi. So the film is strictly not for the masses. There is no hype surrounding the film too, as this is no star son. A lot of factors seem to be against this film. The prospects of the film at the box office seem far from rosy.

** (Two stars)
*poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent

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