Quando torna l'amore

Aditya (Akshay Kumar), who is engaged to Sonia (Bipasha Basu), travels to Canada for his job. While there, he makes the acquaintance of Jia (Katrina Kaif); they first become friends, then fall in love. However, Jia is also engaged, to powerful and possessive industrialist, Karan (Anil Kapoor). When a misunderstanding comes between Jia and Aditya, they both return to India to plan their separate weddings, while still in love with each other.

The plot is mostly predictable, but still generally enjoyable. The music ranges from okay to good, but choreography is well below average; this is a shame as Kaif is an excellent dancer but had no chance to shine. Kumar and Kaif had good chemistry together, and she wasn't as stiff as she has been in other movies. Kapoor was simply perfect for his role. The ending, to me, was rushed and somewhat weak. All together, the movie was a nice time-pass, but not spectacular.

I am a bit surprised that I didn't come across any reviews mentioning how similar this movie is to "Notting Hill" from Hollywood. Honestly, it feels like they've taken the script and scenes from the movie without much thought. On a brighter note, Akshay's acting was on point, and Katrina looked stunning as always. All things considered, I'd give it a 6.

Love (that is, male-female love) is one of the most interesting topics of all the discussions especially when the discussing people are young. Love is also one of the most popular themes for works of fiction, may it be stories or novels or plays or movies. Indian society has seldom been liberal enough to accept love and choosing of own life partner on the part of the young generation. Still love stories have been the most popular ones in Indian movies. Perhaps half of the movies made in different languages of India are having male-female love only as the theme. Why when the Indian society has always considered love as something not desirable and the youths have always been expected to follow the dictates of their elders in matrimonial matters ? Because what's tabooed only attracts the most. It contains a fascination, the fascination of a forbidden fruit. And when adolescence dawns on human-beings, barring exceptions, who does not feel an attraction towards the opposite sex ? Social restrictions can check and affect concrete actions but not the feelings in hearts.

But then what's love ? Attraction motivated by (indirect and hidden) carnal needs ? Liking for someone ? Infatuation for someone ? Or something else ? How do we come to know that we are in love with someone special ? How does it dawn on a female that she is in love with a particular male or on a male that he is in love with a particular female ? Well, it dawns through a feeling. A feeling in one's heart which finally envelops his / her whole personality and pervades all his / her thoughts. Yes, love is a feeling and that's why it can't be described or elaborated, it can only be sensed.

Bollywood film director Raj Kanwar has directed some good movies. He has a mixed track record consisting of some hits and some flops. Humko Deewaana Kar Gaye (2006) is a flop movie directed by him. However when I saw this movie, I found it to be a fairly good movie - a love story which underscores a very significant fact that I have asserted supra - 'Love is a feeling'. You know it when you feel it. This feeling only is the biggest and in fact, the only evidence of existence of love for someone in your heart.

Humko Deewaana Kar Gaye (left me crazy) is the love story of Aaditya (Akshay Kumar) and Jia (Katrina Kaif) who run into each other in Canada. On one hand, Aaditya is already engaged to Sonia (Bipasha Basu), on the other, Jia is the betrothed of Karan (Anil Kapoor). Love blossoms in their hearts with a feeling that they are comfortable in each other's company, they love to be in each other's company and they want each other's company for their lifetime. Through his association with Jia, Aaditya comes to understand that he is not meant for Sonia and Jia only can fill the vacuum in his life. On the other side, Jia understands through Aaditya that love is nothing but a feeling and that feeling she has developed for Aaditya and not Karan.

The twist in the tale arrives through a mistake by Aaditya's drunkard friend Nawaab (Vivek Shauq) making some tragic facts of Jia's personal life public which, in turn, leaves her heartbroken and misunderstanding Aaditya for that. Jia gets married to Karan and then only she comes to know that Aaditya is innocent regarding this bad taste giving incident happened with her. But it's too late now. However the story gets a final twist in the climax to have a happy ending for the lovers (and the other ones associated with them too).

Except for the melodramatic and unimpressive climax of the story, Humko Deewaana Kar Gaye is overall a good movie which touches the audience, especially the romantic hearts, at many places. The romance of the lead pair in Canada is lovely with the beautiful surroundings adding immensely to it. The sequence of the lead pair moving together in a cold, snowy night is not only very romantic but also very emotional. Life, in the real sense, is only a collection of moments. And there are certain moments that we cherish forever. The romantic moments spent in the association of the sweetheart are such moments only. During them only the feeling of love is felt with utmost intensity.

The scene in which Aaditya refers to the wife (Upasana Singh) of his friend Gurpreet (Gurpreet Ghuggi) in a derogatory way and thus generating a wrong notion in his friend's heart for his wife's past leading to a rift between the husband and the wife plus the following scene in which Aaditya only takes corrective action for the unintentional wrong done by him and reunites the couple, are highly touching and underscore the significance of mutual trust in marital life.

The movie contains ample comic and relief moments too. The comedy done by Late Vivek Shauq, Gurpreet Ghuggi and child artist Master Abhay Kanwar alongwith Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif generates abundant laughs for the audience. There is a lot of fun and entertainment in the movie before the principal twist in the story thereafter it becomes heavy with sentiments.

Technically the movie is admirable. Canada appears to be very beautiful on the screen. There is only one action scene in the movie (in the climax) and that's been executed very well. Editing is good but should have been tighter to reduce the length of the movie. Background score is good. Dialogs contain the essence of the movie.

Humko Deewaana Kar Gaye is by no means any extra-ordinary movie. It's a routine love story whose direction is also more or less routine only. However, by default perhaps, it strikes the romantic hearts in a latent way and finds a quality within itself.

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.

Akshay Kumar, India's answer to David Hasselhof, stars in yet another Bollywood melodrama about a doomed love triangle. Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye is one of his least entertaining efforts, mainly due to the fact that the film lacks the action sequences which make Akshay's films bearable.

Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye revolves around a pretty standard love triangle. Akshay plays Aditya, an auto engineer who is engaged to Soniya, a fashion designer. While on a business trip to Canada, Aditya falls in love with Jia, who in turn, is engaged to the rich and powerful Karan. Everything proceeds rather predictably, with Jia and Aditya slowly becoming closer without being unfaithful to their fiancés.

The film is not particularly bad, just overly formulaic and unusually boring. Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye focuses on the developing romance between Aditya and Jai, ignoring the usual action sequences that Akshay is famous for. There is only one fight scene in which Aditya battles three thieves. The musical interludes are also less entertaining than usual. There is a fun musical number in a restaurant when the family drink spiked juice and another hilariously over the top segment in which Aditya and Jia sing while riding a motorbike and dance on top of snowy mountain peaks. Unfortunately, such scenes are few and far between.

In addition to the inimitable Akshay, the cast includes several rising Bollywood stars. Katrina Kaif is lovely as the emotionally torn Jia, while the ridiculously beautiful Bipasha Basu shines as bitchy Soniya. Vivek Shaq also offers some much needed comedy relief as Nawab. Despite these fine performances, the film really revolves around Ashkay and he provides further evidence for being the cheesiest actor ever to grace the silver screen. And yet, I see all of his films. Go figure.

Hum Ko Deewana Kar Gaye is worth checking out on video or DVD, when you can fast forward all of the romantic rubbish and enjoy the hilarious dance numbers.