Achanak

I really enjoyed this one and was particularly pleased because I did not expect much. It may not be perfect and may be flawed, especially in the second half, but comedy in the first half along with suspense in the second half made for a decent entertainer. There's no much to say about this film because it is not a particularly good film, but it is an interesting Hindi flick with a decent development of story. While the first half is very typical (which is not bad), with an ordinary love story, nice songs and silly jokes, the level of interest grows with a surprising second half, which is more thrilling and unpredictable. Govinda tries his best with this role and balances comedy with seriousness, while Manisha is intense and as always impressive. Paresh Rawal is convincing as the villain. Toward the end the film turns into a big joke with all of them running flying; don't really understand, but don't really care. It shouldn't be taken seriously, watch it for a nice time-pass.

Not even Manisha as the errand girl of the mountains and Govinda as the race car driver could save this film. Every one acted really badly. Paresh Rawal should never do villainous roles. If I can predict every next plot twist or scene then why watch the film? The suspense/surprise was non-existent, music bad, and there was nothing to keep me engaged after the first 50 minutes. Even the trademark Govinda dances were absent. The music was bad. There was a large woman chasing after Govinda for the first 30 minutes or so. Why was Manisha running errands for the whole town? Well, Johny Lever was OK - that has to count for something. The 50 minutes I spent on this film were utterly wasted.

I read another comment that someone could not watch the movie after the first 50 minutes. You know that is the problem with people. You complain that an actor does the same roles over and over again (as in Govinda doing only his comedy roles) but when he does something else like this movie, Shikhar or Chhote Sarkar people criticize him. As far as being able to see whats coming next, don't you see that in all those YashRaj films and al those Shah Rukh Films?!?! Back to ACHANAK. It is a good movie, not a classic, but good. Actually a murder mystery. Rahul Roy gets murdered (of Aashiqui fame) and Govinda tries to get the murder. Manisha is his love interest, my favorite Rarah Naazz (sister of Tabu with whom Govinda made some hit films in the past) is his bhabhi and there are a host of villains as suspects. This is probably the only film so far in which you will be able to see Govinda and Shah Rukh Khan in the same movie, although not together in a ascene. Watch out for Sanjay Dutt as well and Jhonny lever in a triple role.