In an age when Hindi cinema is winning global respect with films like Black, Rang De Basanti and Being Cyrus, one Humko Deewana Kar Gaye is enough to tarnish the image of the entire industry as a place that churns out conventional crap.
What's new about the film one might ask? Absolutely nothing. The same boy-meets-girl story. Both engaged to someone else. Celebration Song! Boy saves girl from goondas. Both fall for each other. Dream sequence love song! The 'someone else' makes an entry at the interval point and takes away the girl. Heartbreak song! And at the end the 'someone else' hands over the girl into the boy's arms. Reunion song! Happy ending? No, a sad beginning! How could director Raj Kanwar at the first place think to start a film on such an age-old clichéd plot? The director claims to have been inspired by some real life story to make this movie. Seems like the real-life story he came across was Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. This is the zillionth version of the film in Bollywood.
For how long will the actors indulge in melodrama in the name of performances? For how long will a cinematographer keep revolving the camera during song sequences on cliff ends and mountaintops in the name of scenic photography? For how long will the producer rope in actors for special appearances as surprise elements that no more remain a suspense till the movie releases? For how long will a director regurgitate rotten recipes and yet claim that his film is 'different'? And for how long will the audiences encourage stars rather than performers? The problem with HDKG is it's one-dimensional story. Right from scene one the viewer can predict the next scene without going wrong till the last scene. The screenplay is lousy, long-drawn-out, impractical and simply yawn inducing. The writing (actually the lack of it) is so bland that there are no plot-points, twists or turns in the story that would grab your attention.
Picture this scene where Akshay and Katrina are trapped inside their car stuck amidst snow. Throughout the night they don't get out of the car because the doors are stuck in snow. And as morning arrives, Akshay simply scrolls down the window and gets out. So what was he waiting all night for inside the car? To sing a song in a dream sequence and inflict pain on the audience.
Akshay Kumar makes you laugh in the film. Now that obviously is not a compliment considering that the film is not a comedy but an emotional drama. Now we are so used to see Akshay in comic roles where he mocks melodrama that when he actually tries to be serious in this film, the scene ends up being unintentionally funny. Not that Akshay is a bad actor, but he is surely wasting his potential with such shoddy scripts.
Katrina Kaif gets maximum scope with her screen time and puts in a sincere effort. But then the film has its limitations. Bipasha Basu only gets to flaunt the close up shots of her belly-button in two songs.
And was it goodwill or good money that made Anil Kapoor sign the film? Because there was certainly nothing good about the role! He tries his best but his character is so underdeveloped and ineffective that you feel sorry for the actor. He gets into frenzy over his possessiveness pangs but for the sake of a Bollywood hero, turns typically large-hearted at the end and parts away with his fiancée to reunite her with her true love.
Interestingly the climax of the film traverses the anti-cultural path as against the other mushy flicks in this genre that go on endorsing Indian traditions. But if director Raj Kanwar thinks that he has attempted something path-breaking in this film by showing a married woman leaving her husband and getting back to her ex-flame, he is mistaken. It will take him ages to come in contact with the modern day film-making. His last few films from Andaaz, Ab Ke Baras to Dhai Akshar Prem Ke had nothing new to offer. We would still prefer a Judaai or a Laadla from you Raj ji even if that takes you to remake a south flick. At least that is better than repeating tried-n-tested Bollywood formulas.
The translation of Deewana can have different connotations from crazy to mad. Humko Deewana Kar Gaye lives up to the title with respect to the latter connotation.
