Khoya Khoya Chand

'khoya khoya chand' prooves the amazing skills of the director sudhir mishra. although the writer sudhir mishra may still need to work a bit.

the movie style is amazing. the story being set up in the early 60s is amazinginly displayed using all details of the era. from wooden badminton rackets to clothing...... each detail has been taken care of.

the art direction and special effects also need an applause.

the first half of the movie has great dialogues and great story. the second half seems to be a bit stretched.

after the awesome movie ' hazaron khwaishien aisi', one expected an 'unexpected ending'. although the end could have been arrived earlier than it did, it was still 'unexpected'.

Expectations that were never met - that is the sad story of Khoya Khoya Chand. Who would think that the man who gave us the mesmerizing Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi would now try to foist this film on us? This is a story of a greedy grabbing star actor, Rajat Kapoor, playing yet again an oily villainous type, the vulnerable and abused actress, Soha Ali Khan playing Nikhat, the dreamy idealistic poet, Shiny Ahuja playing the novelist/script writer. There are casting couches, there is crude (sorry, blunt) language, there is simulated sex with lots of oohing and aahing while clothes do not come off, and there are interminable scenes of films being shot. But somewhere along the line the filmmakers lose the plot and forget that in this collage of events they are also obligated to have a thread of a story. There is the thinnest of tales and unengaging at that.

The movie is visually stunning, an excellent period piece, also interesting for how it hints at real life stories like Guru Dutt and Waheeda and those countless women who were sent to earn a living in the biz at a very young age. The direction is sub-par, in the multitude of bodies milling about the key elements are never really isolated well enough, and the leads are quite wooden most of the time. Rajat Kapoor is great, as is Vinay Pathak. Sonia is quite good too. But Soha and Shiny disappoint hugely. In the hands of a more experienced pair of actors this could have risen to greater heights. As is, this is no Kagaz Ke Phool, but rather Kahan Hai Phool.

The music is mediocre (except the title number) and the sound is one of the most annoying parts of the film. The director wanted realism in the form of the hustle and bustle of a real set, but what we get is a background of cacophony in every scene, so much so that it is hard to hear what is going on. The story moves in fits and starts. The leading lady suddenly develops a hole in her heart, and the director has to go on blogs to tell us that the final shot is her orgasm! What the fish? Then we are told the rest of the tale in a written narrative - as if we cared by then what happened to this tepid tale.

The title "Khoya Khoya Chand" is a song which was sung in a 1950's movie "Kaala Bazaar" by the late Mohd Rafi for Dev Anand. This is an indication that this movie, by Sudhir Mishra is based during that era - 1950's to 1960's. In fact, in a recent interview, he said that this film was his way of paying a tribute to those in that era.

Nikhat, daughter of a well known actress, Sharda, is keen to join the movie industry and does so by learning to dance and catches the eye of the top actor Prem Kumar with whom she falls in love with. She later finds out that he is getting married to someone else, even though he has proclaimed his love for her. This is when script writer Zaffar liberates her from the actor's stranglehold but then events take another turn for Nikhat and she's left alone again.

Soha Ali Khan, sister of Saif Ali Khan and daughter of the legendary actress, who herself was a excellent actress, Sharmila Tagore and also daughter of the famous Cricketing legend, the Nawab of Pataudi, has given an excellent performance in this movie. She, also, looks gorgeous. The other cast include Shiny Ahuja, who has also performed well, Rajat Kapoor,Sushmita Mukherjee and Vinay Pathak. The music director, Shantanu Moitra, has set a very good example of recreating the music style of the 1950's and the 1960's and not to mention the jazz genre in it, which makes the songs worthwhile listening to. Finally, the director, Sudhir Mishra, no doubt has created and directed a speciality movie by recreating the 1950's and 1960's era for the screen. Also what has made this movie interesting are the songs that are being played in the background - many of which were, and still are, most memorable tunes from that era. Soha Ali Khan, recently said that her mother helped her with the dressing for the movie. This is not surprising because Sharmila Tagore was a fashion icon at the time as well being a excellent actress of the 1960's. There were rumours that this movie was based on the romance between Waheeda Rehman and the late Guru Dutt,who was married to the singer, Geeta Dutt and who directed movies such as the classical "Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam" and "Pyasa". But the director, in no certain words, has denied this. However, there may be certain parts that some viewers, and especially those of the elder generation, may consider the rumour to be true.

Conclusion: Those who like to watch movies from the 1950's and 1960's - a worthwhile movie to watch and enjoy. But those who do not like such movies, or are not very keen on such genres, may not find it worthwhile.

Khoya Khoya Chand - Its an attempted journey into the film world of 60s when writing was an important aspect of films and many writers became directors of their movies. The ambiance of the 60's film industry is captured rightly to some extent as its all mostly indoors and vintage cars. But the film does not impress and fails to make an impact. The viewer does not relate to the happenings and cannot feel anything for the characters. The story has its plots pointing towards the life of Guru Dutt & Gulzar. The script till the interval seems like pieces joined together. It only gets its grip after the interval but till then the audiences have lost hopes. Its as if we are watching a well made documentary on how the films were made in the 60s and how the artists related in their personal lives. After seeing the flick one is forced to believe that the casting couch existed in the film industry long time back too and everybody had illegitimate relations around them. Performances wise Soha Lai Khan tries her best which shows from her effort but she look too young and immature to play the role. Her act is satisfactory but she lacks the depth demanded by the script. Shiny Ahuja is impressive but gets loud at some places. The best act comes from Saurabh Shukla as the punjabi producer and he looks superb and very enjoyable. The music is good but doesn't have any memorable song. Only the title song scores the highest among the all.

Overall its an average movie with insights on the Indian Film Making System. But surely much more was expected from Sudhir Mishra who gave us "Hazaron Khwaishen Aisee" & "Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin"

Ratings : 2 Stars (Go for it if you want to take a look how films were made in the 60's)

An excellent movie... wonderfully directed,with excellent characterization, screenplay... The story of a person as he realizes his naivety and attains maturity through the course of his life is depicted through the character of Zafar, the cinema industry of the fifties being an excellent backdrop. One can see how life is dealt with, differently by different persons as we look at the distinct personalities in Nikhat, Zafar and the superstar Prem Kumar. As we are taken through the movie we get a glimpse of the movie industry in the fifties in the perfectly made settings, giving the impression of an excellent classic in the current times.