Fida

The tagline of this movie is aptly kept: "Not all love stories have the perfect ending." The opening scene is interesting with an Internet hacker transferring a gargantuan sum of money from a underworld don's bank account to a Swiss bank account. The innocent, naive Shahid Kapoor falls in love at first sight with Kareena. At first, the film seems very melodramatic and filmi, but that is later understandable after a startling fact is revealed. Fardeen was decent, and Kareena was good. Shahid's performance was amazing.

We've already seen that he's an awesome dancer; he's an even better actor now. He's definitely going to go places. Songs are good, especially "Aaja Ve Mahi" and "Maine Jisko Chaha." The story is very different. It's a good story, but it's not very entertaining. This movie is a drama basically, and the different ending leaves you with the feeling of a Hollywood film.

The subject of the film was very interesting, but the film wasn't treated well enough. I felt that the main twist when Shahid finds out that he has been betrayed was unfolded too soon in the storyline. And after that the film dragged up to the climax. Even the climax was not as 'shocking' as it was made out to be. The ending is not satisfying, it seems abrupt. For the exception of Kareena (who was awesome) no other actor delivered a great performance. Shahid was fine in the first half, but he seemed completely lost in the second half. And what was the reason for him to imitate Amitabh Bachchan in the finale (I wonder if anybody else noticed that). Fardeen was just about okay, he played the role of the suave Vikram nicely. This is Kareena's best performance to date. She looks gorgeous and makes a great looking pair with Shahid. The actor who played the don was horrible. He hammed throughout the film. The songs are good specially Maine Jisko Chaha and Aja ve mahi. Cinematography is fantastic. The film wears a posh and classy look throughout. Fida doesn't live up to my expectations 7/10.

Watched Fida without any particular expectations and was not surprised by anything in it. This is an ordinary fare at best which is worth a one-time watch. The story is full of clichés, such as unconditional love and how a loving guy would give his life for a girl, how he gets accused for no fault of his own because of her and so on. Ken Ghosh's direction is nothing great. The script does not add much and at points it is ridiculous. After the so-called twist through which the truth is revealed, the film turns into a thriller but this part is heavily flawed and unconvincing, though it does have some entertainment value and suspense. The film's main protagonist is played by the very young Shahid Kapur, and the guy evidently tries very hard to do the best of what he was given. Although in terms of acting he was not there yet (as he is today with such performances as Kaminey), you can't but appreciate his efforts. Kareena Kapoor plays the bad girl probably because she noticed it was a trend for leading ladies to play negative roles. This role is sort of a take off on the many roles played by Bette Davis, but Kareena does a forgettable job. That's not entirely her fault because her role was not well written. Fardeen Khan is bad as the bad guy. The music of Fida does not stand out but I liked "Nazar Nazar" a lot as it was melodious, and I enjoyed "Maine Jisko Chaha" to an extent. Otherwise the film is simply better to avoid, with the ending being particularly pathetic. Do not expect much from Fida.

An account belonging to a major underworld don has been hacked into, and has been totally wiped out (around 220 crores!). Cops, media, and the said don all are very upset. [Scene change] Boy (Shahid Kapur - new promising kid on the block) sees girl (Kareena Kapoor). Boy goes ga-ga over girl! Boy convinces girl she is the girl of his dreams. Girl embraces boy. Boy starts singing/dancing etc. After much songs - story goes for a twist. Girl has financial problems (around 6 crores worth). Boy decides to rob a bank. Boy goes to the bank, sees another dude (Fardeen Khan) withdrawing a huge amount from the bank (around 7 crores - how convenient!). Boy decides to steal from the dude. And so the twists pile up on twists with a final twist at the climax!

Sounds thrilling? It cudda been!

The best part about Fida is that it clocks in at an amazing 2 hours and some change (and the songs are easy on the ears too). But the proceedings tend to disappoint every time you think the excitement level is going to notch up a little. Pacing is uneven, and the performances are inconsistent. Shahid Kapur has good screen presence and is a hit with the ladies, but his future strictly depends on his shrugging off the SRK hangover. Kareena Kapoor and Fardeen Khan are just OK. Make no mistakes - this is a director's vehicle, and Ken Ghosh seems to have lost his enthusiasm for the project somewhere after the first few reels.

Too Much Coincidence to Accept, But Certainly One-Time Watch

Shahid sees a girl, Kareena, in his dream, and magically she exists in reality. At first glance, he falls in love with her. Okay, accepted. In a few weeks, he meets her twice and even goes to her home at night to prove his love. She clearly refuses to meet him, so he slits his hands and writes her name in blood... Okay, accepted. True love exists. But then, one day, some people threaten Kareena for 6 crore rupees, and she makes up a story that she needs that much money in three days. Shahid decides to rob a bank but then sees a rich man. Guess what? This rich guy captures Shahid and turns out to be Kareena's original boyfriend, who hacks into the bank's server to steal money.

The police later capture Shahid, but he escapes, gets shot, and even survives.

Don't you think this is really too much to digest?

One star deducted for the poor script, one star deducted for Fardeen's subpar acting, and one star for the excessive plot armor and cheesy introduction given to Shahid. A few things I did appreciate were Shahid's effort and Kareena's acting, which were good. The last scene, where he takes his revenge by taking Kareena's life, was also quite satisfying. Only because of this, I decided to give it 7 out of 10.