Fanaa

The second half of this movie seems to be largely inspired by "Eye of the Needle" which I had watched twenty years back. It starred Donald Sutherland. "Eye of the Needle" has the backdrop of World War II. A German spy gets marooned on a desolate British island colony, probably Gibraltar. He falls in love with a woman who stays on the island with her crippled husband and their son. She too falls for the hero. When she learns about the hero being a spy she mercilessly shoots him. The tag-line of the movie ran like 'it is easy to love an enemy but difficult to kill a lover' (not verbatim). Replace the island by Kashmir made inaccessible in winter. Replace the German spy by lost husband terrorist. Crippled husband by alcoholic father. Presto, you get "Fanaa".

The story writer (who won a Filmfare award for this movie!) owes us an explanation.

This is hands down the best romantic film since .....well in a long time , all the people i know who haven't liked this film is because its got impossible situations in it and its slow in the 2nd half all i have to say : stop watching Hindi films then and continue watching 25 sec ads which have diminished your attention span .

The characters are given amazing dept and lo and behold they take the film to an all new high .Kajol has proved shes the best actress of her generation and with this film is giving serious competion to her late legendary aunt nutun as the best actress of the family .

Aamir is splendid though i felt his character got a bit sketchy in the 2nd half not his fault the director and writer could have made his motives more clearer for us . however what ever hes given to work with he electrifies every scene hes in .

kudos to all the crew especially kunal kohli

After all the recent pornographic movies such as Murder and the like, it's really refreshing to have a D E C E N T Indian film which the entire family can watch. Sure the film wasn't brilliant but it beats the other crap Bollywood has been spewing out ever since the arrival of Mr. Imran-Gigolo-Hashmi. What a treat to see Kajol on screen again. She truly is the gem in the crown of Indian cinema. And as for Aamir...well, his done it again. After his stellar performance in Rang De Basanti, he pulls off the role of Rehan with immense warmth and passion. I know this is probably a pipe-dream, but it would be fantastic to see these 2 set the big screen ablaze again. Kudos to Kunal Kohli for reminding the world of what a true Bollywood film is made of!

Title "FANAA"....as it says "Destroyed in Love"...well suits the theme.

Rehan (Aamir Khan) is on a mission where he meets Zooni (Kajol), playing a role of a blind girl who is on a visit to Delhi for the performance. The story starts with them falling in love with each other. The dialog here are very interesting especially for Hindi / Urdu poetry lovers. It is a beautiful expression of exchanging their feelings in enchanting words…truly mesmerizing. The viewers who are enthralled by this love story in the first half are astonished to see the twist of the second half. Here comes the silent message and the sad end (as the name suggests) where Zooni has to choose between right or wrong, between the life with her son and lover/husband who has returned after years or the country's wellbeing that is in danger if Rehan succeeds in his plan. Zooni chooses the right thing as taught by her parents.

Over all, it is a good plot, well written and well directed. It is a love story with a twist finally depicting that the love for the truth and for the country is far greater then one's personal feeling. As mentioned, there is always a choice between good and bad but what defines one's life is the right choice.

Lyrics are very melodious and the music is also very good that gifts us the hit song of the month "Chand..."

Fanaa is a complex movie. Aamir Khan has continued his trend of working on unusual plots and delivering extraordinary performances and Kajol has outshone Aamir on many occasions in the film.

The emotional intensity of the movie gets to the core of the viewer's heart. It may help people to look at the Kashmir issue from a different angle but it does certainly portray one fact, and that is a seemingly ruthless terrorist can actually be a simple and kind man fighting for his land's freedom. For him, making judgement on greater good or lesser evil is a constant struggle. Even though Rehan (Aamir) did not derail from his cause (terorrism apparently) till the last breath in his body, he will draw sympathy from the viewers.

The splendor of light, sound and colors in big budget Hindi movies is achieving new heights every day. Viewers will be simply spellbound to the screen during most of the song sequences. The music of the movie was like a breath of fresh air. The viewers will also enjoy a ride of convincing and innovative action sequences.

The first half of the movie could have been made better though. Sometimes the pace felt a little off. The constant exchange of poetry did feel irritating at times. Perhaps, if Aamir could shed off a few kilos, things could have looked a little more natural. It was also unusual for a blind Muslim girl like Zooni (Kajol) to indulge into a physical relation with Rehan (who did not pledge any commitment to their relation) so early. But I guess these things follow typical commercial Hindi film unofficial rules.

Overall the movie is certainly worth watching and, compared to most of the Hindi films, quite a unique one.