Mehbooba

It's quite known that 'Mehbooba' was supposed to release almost a decade ago but for some reason it got delayed and finally sees the light of day. It's pretty much the same old love triangle that was frequent in the 90s, with two guys falling in love with one girl, an extended family, lots of travelling abroad etc. It has lavish sets (the interiors of the houses are stunning), lots of expensive traditional costumes and some spectacular shots of Budapest (but suspiciously some of the places bear a striking resemblance to Prague), Rajasthan and New York. Clearly Afzal Khan has spent a lot of money on this. Though I believe his intentions were noble, had the film released on time, it could have been a success.

Some of the comedic dialogues are funny but the lines spoken in the dramatic sequences are very old and too familiar. At some points, the film really drags especially in the last hour. another thing is that the word 'Mehbooba' which is irritatingly repeated in every single song and even in the dialogues. We get that it's the title, no need to remind the viewer every single time.

Ashok Mehta's cinematography works quite well. The songs are okay but they are nowhere close to Ismail Darbar's best works. They are filmed in the typical style set in picturesque locations and expensive clothes. Ajay Devgan and Sanjay Dutt are laughably bad at dancing.

The actors themselves look younger. This film was very likely made during the time when Ajay Devgan was still interested in movies because he doesn't have that I-could-care-less look that he has in most of his recent films. It's not an exceptional performance but he's vivacious and likable. Perhaps this is due to his chemistry with Manisha Koirala as she's one of the few actresses with whom Devgan can hit it off on screen. Sanjay Dutt looks a bit too old for the role, yes, even in those times. He does a decent job. However, it is Manisha Koirala's film. Firstly, it's great to see her back in a commercial film. She looks incredibly beautiful and I think if 'Mehbooba' released during the right time, it may have been better for her career. Her performance is great too and she proves that she can carry a commercial film. Of the supporting cast, only Kader Khan stands out. It's good to see this guy again after a long time.

'Mehbooba' is bad but it wasn't so abysmal that I felt like walking out. It had some good moments but the story is too old to be retold, that too in the old fashioned way. It's still much more bearable than many of the Hindi films releasing today. For me, the best things about this film were the exotic locations and Ms. Koirala (both looks and performance).

If you were around in the 1920s and 30s you might have read what were commonly referred to as "Modern Morality Plays." These were basically extensions of medieval plays in which the main character (generally a young woman) was punished for attempting to legitimize a blatant violation of social norms. A typical story might be a young woman in WWI era America trying to live life independent of marriage, motherhood, or patriarchal social customs. She would try to survive, suffer in the process, and ultimately die or be outcasted from the town in which she lived, torch-wielding villagers and all.

That was then. Today (in the post-feminist 21st century) moral standards are decidedly different. But what hasn't changed is our desire to punish those who violate them.

Case in point: Afzal Khan's "Mehbooba", a much-delayed and surprisingly anti-patriarchal love story from the House of Bollywood.

"Mehbooba", as it were, translates to "female beloved" who in this case is Varsha, played by Manisha Koirala, one of India's finest dramatic actresses who not so long ago (i.e. Pre-Aishwarya Age Bollywood) was one of the nation's leading marquee attractions.

But she isn't the one who violates social norms in Khan's film; rather, it is the treacherous chauvinist Shravan (Sanjay Dutt) who spends his days and nights informing women that they are to be used and discarded for his sexual pleasure as he wills. All of this takes place in New York because of course women are always respected within India's borders . . . (ahem, ahem).

Varsha becomes of one of his victims, except that she doesn't go as quietly as the others. She curses him, leaves the country, changes her name to Payal, and heads to Budapest where she meets the charming and gentle Karan (Ajay Devgan) who thinks she is the woman of his dreams.

She eschews his advances, informing him that she doesn't trust men having lost her virginity to a misogynistic snake. Karan tells her it he doesn't care about her past; at last she relents, becomes his fiancée, and they are united.

Sort of.

Since this is Bollywood, she must of course go to Karan's home in India (where he apparently lives in a government palace) and receive the blessings of his astrologically inclined mother. Karan leaves first, arriving home to his family and an elder brother who turns out to be (zoinks!) Shravan. Cue the bombastic background music.

What happens next? Shravan, it seems, has turned a leaf and now deeply regrets the pain he caused Varsha and spends his nights drinking and playing the piano a la Rishi Kapoor in every film he made in the 90s. He professes (incredulously) that he loves Varsha and that she is the greatest specimen of femininity on the planet. Karan counters, professing his Payal is the greatest specimen of femininity on the planet. Sibling rivalry and ribbing turns into melodramatic irony as the audience knows they are unwittingly talking about the same woman.

At this point, Payal/Varsha returns . . . and thus the unraveling and punishment of Shravan begins. Several twists and turns later, the film reminds us that when you disrespect a respectable Indian (or Nepalese) woman, prepare yourself for ugly (and fierce) retribution.

The film borrows heavily from Bhansalli's puerile "Hum Dil Dechuke Sanam", not just in terms of characterization (Dutt plays an extremist version of Salman Khan's cad, Devgan is back as the knight in corduroy armor), but in terms of structure as well – the story spans three continents, involves a once happy-go-lucky girl understanding the unhappiness of relationships, and comes to center around a typically large extended family prone to celebrating all things Hindu, signing and dancing throughout.

In all, "Mehbooba" is pretty standard Bollywood melodrama. If there's any reason to watch, it's Manisha Koirala. This is definitely not her best or most interesting work – for an actress who's built a resume of offbeat and non-romantic roles, including starkly brilliant performances in films like "Dil Se", "Khamoshi", "Bombay" and "1942 A Love Story", "Mehbooba" is very middle-of the-road. She's very well presented and seems at ease in the chic getups, though not particularly interested in the emotional swell that surrounds her. One may even argue that she's the one Bollywood performer who looks better without makeup than with. But such superficial evaluations are exactly what she's not (and has never) been about.

Several actresses, including Karishma Kapoor, Urmila Matondkar, and Kajol vied for this typically glamorous role, but Khan went with Koirala. One wonders why. Her role in "Mehbooba" is the film's central one, but it doesn't provide her the kind of structure she requires to shine. It is yet another reminder that her talent far exceeds what mainstream Bollywood offers her to play. Surely Tabu, Urmila, and Manoj Bajpai will concur (with frustration).

Hopefully, bolder filmmakers will cast her in more complex and interesting roles. Wot say, Deepa Mehta?

Isn't this movie a replica of "Agni Sakshi"? Manisha Koirala was also starring in that movie. How could there be two movies of the same story? I was amazed when I rented this movie from the store. I expected old, wrinkled Manisha.......but what was in front on the TV was mind blowing. I thought now will come old Manisha and old Sanjay and old Ajay but I waited too long and ultimately I just switched my DVD and TV off. Disgusting - how could they do this!!! Anyone knows this movie was released in 2008?????? Why did they even release it now? This is no era for such movies!!!! Oh Lord, how could they be so senseless? Were they expecting the movie to be a hit? I am so disappointed.

This is the same old love triangle and offers really nothing new accept that it is good to see Manisha Koirala back on the screen.

Karan Dhariwal,who lives in Budapest, dreams of a girl who he finds very beautiful – a girl of his dreams. One day, he sees her when goes to the airport to collect his friend only to leave him there to make his own way to the city, while he pursues the girl. Later he finds out that she lives in the same house as his lawyer and that she is his friend's daughter – Varsha. But she has past that she reveals to her uncle and informs him that she would rather prefer Karan to leave her alone. She informs him that in the past she was in love with a playboy who dumped her in revenge for what she had done to him.

Directed and produced by Afzal Khan, the movie stars Sanjay Dutt, Manisha Koirala, Ajay Devgan, Kadar Khan, Asrani, Reema Lagoo,Bindu and Himani Shivpuri.

I must say that this film was made a long time ago and that it has only been released now. Sanjay Dutt, for example, looks very young and since the movie was made, has aged; the same applies to Ajay Devgan and Kadar Khan. Secondly, at the very beginning, the credits have taken far too long to roll in – nearly three minutes which I feel is a bit too long for the audience to wait for. Thirdly the film goes straight into a song as the credits come to an end, which made me think "why?" It's only after the song that we see that its only a dream. Lastly, the first half is far too long and it could have done with a bit more editing.

Conclusion: Dragging and the audience will get bored.