La verità negli occhi

I'd been wanting to watch 'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' for a while mainly because it starred one of my favorite actresses Konkona Sen Sharma and a used-to-be favorite Rani Mukerjee (I still like her). In spite of hearing the bad reviews, I was still considering it as I expected that in the least I'd get to see two great performances. That's all I got.

Pradeep Sarkar could have made one fine movie but with so many unnecessary (and irritating) characters, the bad writing (clichès etc) and lack of character development the film is hugely bought down. Why the hell was there a need to have the whole Tinnu Anand - Sushant Singh track (they're irritating)? A wooden Abhishek adds nothing interesting (another track that could have better been left out). Anupam Kher hams it up as a card-board selfish (misogynist?) dad. Likewise the other characters are badly written. In the beginning we see a frantic Jaya Bachchan in the hospital when the husband's had a heart attack but Konkona's Chutki is shown to be very relaxed (as if nothing happened). Was she simply in denial or was she just staying positive? Then in a later scene (before Rani becomes an escort call girl) we see that her neighbor-friend offers her money for help but she still decides to sleep with his boss. Was it simply that phone call to her mother that pushed her off the edge? Jaya Bachchan plays a caricature mother and this can be added to one of her worst performances.

In addition to all the mess, most of the songs were horrible and should have been edited out. The only songs that stand out are the first track, the song that takes place when Badki becomes Natassha and the Mujra (even though it was chopped and could have been better left as a whole). The outdoor locations (e.g. Switzerland and Italy) in the songs were unnecessary but what would a Yashraj film be without such flooze?

On the positive side, as mentioned earlier, there are two standout performances. Apart from that one scene mentioned above, Konkona is brilliant. The role itself is not something particularly special, but the actress is and she definitely leaves a mark. The scenes with her and Rani are the best. Thankfully, there are enough of those to make the film somewhat worth the watch. It was funny seeing her do the singing and dancing (as it's the first time she's done that) not that she was bad or anything.

'Laaga Chunari Mein Daag' is Rani's film. The actress does one of her best acts and shows tremendous growth. Easily one of the best performances this year and all Rani needs is more great (and such different) roles in great films to mark her talent.

Hema Malini does a graceful cameo. However her dance-number is chopped into pieces. 'Would have liked to see her dance more. The cinematography is impressive, especially the shots of Banaras. On the whole, this is one severely flawed and very predictable film but with two fantastic performances that prevent me from calling it a waste of time. I'd recommend it to those who like the works of Rani and Konkona as long as they don't expect anything from the film itself.

When I went for the movie I was skeptical as I heard a review that the movie was a regressive tear jerker. Which thankfully was DEFINITELY NOT TRUE. I wonder if the reviewer actually saw the movie.

The story is about a benaras based family falling into hard times and Rani moving to mumbai to save the family from financial ruin.

A family falling into bad times is certainly not a novel concept. What is refreshing is the story line, which is definitely modern and realistic and never one dimensional. Life in Benaras and Mumbai has been captured beautifully without a trace of cliché.

The romance between Konkona and Kunaal is refreshing and so is the chemistry between Rani and Abhishek. The story line is sometimes sad but always realistic and upbeat.

Acting and Direction is superb. Rani and Konkona are superb. Rani sizzles with her looks and acting. Konkona acting is superb. Kunal has shown he is much more that a pretty face. Abhishek role is short but he does a decent job. Jaya's acting is flawless.

Kudos to the director/producer for choosing a difficult subject and handling it with great sensitivity.

This fall is supposed to be full of good and bad surprises. All the previews of this flick promised that a treat is likely to come our way. And this is exactly what has gone against this movie.The highlights of the songs weren't too misleading, as far as its catchy tunes are concerned. The plot revolves around a family settled in Benaras. Shivshanker Sahay (Anupam Kher) is a retired man lives in an ancestral house, with two daughters, and his wife, Sabitri (Jaya Bachchan). The elder daughter Vibha (Rani) is more conscious of her parents' old age, their growing anxiety for making both ends meet, and her incapacity as a woman to support her parents as a son would have done. This financial crisis pushes Vibha to fetch for work in a city of opportunities where opportunities are very hard to strike. From this point, the never-ending saga of Vibha turning into Natasha brings a very predictable twist in the story. Chutki (Konkana Sen) is one of the finest artists in Indian cinema. She has done full justice to her role as a younger daughter with little understanding of the family crisis and huge dreams for future. Though it is a very well-executed movie, with finesse of Pradeep Sarkar, and all the right ingredients for a commercial hit, it is a very predictable movie. The reason for its predictability is that the previews not only revealed the entire story, but stole all the surprising elements from it.

There was a song by a similar title, sung many years back by the legendary K.L. Saigal.

Based on the old format about poverty, a movie production company hires a place in the Northern Indian city of Benares, where two sisters, Natasha and Chutki live with their parents. The father, Shivshankar Sahay, is against renting out his house to the movie company but has to accept it due to financial reasons. One night, upon request from one of the female members of the company, Natasha and Chutki go and watch a dance against their parents wishes. At the end of the performance, the three visit the female dancer, who tells Natasha that she is very pretty. But soon events turn for the worse and the movie production company, who had paid the family for the use of their house for filming, decide to withdraw and demand to have their money back. In the meantime, Natasha, who has had to leave college and help at home, has to admit her father to a hospital as he suffers heart problems and has to pay for him to be admitted. She decides to go to Mumbai and get a job as an actress as the female member of the movie had promised her. But nothing works out and in order to support her family, Natasha is forced to make up her mind as what she wants to do. But events force her to turn into a high class prostitute.

This is one movie, that Rani Mukherjee, as Natasha, tries to show her versatility as an actress and has proved it. The other bit of excellent acting is by Jaya Bachchan as her mother and also Abhishek and Konkona Sen. But Hema Malini, who makes a special appearance as the dancer, is just magnificent even though she's in it as "special appearance." The movie also stars Tinu Anand as Shishankar Sahay's evil brother.

Conclusion: This is worth watching at least once.

This is not a must watch. But definitely worth your time. I don't know why this movie was so underrated. Excellent performance from every characters. Somehow, in the early scenes of 'happy days' I felt that Konkona as 'chutki' has outclassed Rani in performance! Also the acting of (by Taraana?) as the character 'sophie' needs mention. All in all everyone performed very well. Abhishek's entry as Kunal's elder brother in the end is predictable. The thing I most like is the simple happy ending. Usually, a movie with such high voltage drama ends in a certain way but this is not.

So at least watch it for the sake of climax!