Lahore

Lahore, the directorial venture by Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan is clichéd, highly predictable at times, having lot of flaws, etc etc.. But despite of all these shortcomings, it manages to moisten the viewers' eyes towards the ending. 'An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind', the quote of Mahatma Gandhi, is well depicted in the movie, and that alone is a reasonable factor to watch the movie.

Lahore is about two brothers, and two countries, too. The story has nothing so new, it goes as expected by the viewers, the director has managed to execute it in a not-so boring manner, that he saves it from being called as a Documentary.

The performances are fine, the main protagonist Aanaahad is a look-alike of Randeep Hooda, he does his part well, Sushant Singh was good, Farooque Sheikh, Nafisa Ali, Mukesh Rishi, Shraddha Nigam all were good, and special mention to Shraddha Das, she looked like the mock-female roles Shreyas Talpade and Reitesh Deshmukh had played in their previous films.

The music by MM Kreem is average, and the cinematography is fine.

On the whole, Lahore is a good movie with an awesome, fantastic ending. Watch it, you will know!!

Lets keep the record straight, Lahore is "Joh Jeeta Wohi Sikander" to the "T". If JJWS dealt with two brothers, so does Lahore. If JJWS had the school rivalry as the under-currents, in Lahore we have the political rivalry between India and Pakistan. Call it twist of fate, and the younger brother attempts to redeem himself by taking on the unfinished business. By the way, did I mention "Apne"? Yes because that had uncanny similar plot too. But the original still remains sacrosanct, a masterpiece from Mansoor Khan (who sadly taken a long sabbatical).

☻ Sushant Singh:: As elder brother Dheeru he has put in extra effort to the character. His chemistry with Shraddha Nigam was just about right.

☻ Aanaahad:: Very strong debut. A striking personality. Has what is takes and deliver well. The romance bit with Shraddha Das was not fleshed out convincingly.

☻ Mukesh Rishi:: Good choice to play the role of Noor Mohammed who has his own demons to battle against.

☻ Farooq Sheikh:: As usual he is impeccable ensuring you will remember the diction of Mr. Rao. Shares a good chemistry with Saurabh Shukla.

☻ Nafisa Ali:: Quite adequate.

The rest of star-cast were OK (Sabyasachi Chakraborty, Jeeva, Pramod Moutho, Ashish Vidyarthi & Nirmal Pandey).

The director balances the sensibilities of both Indian and Pakistan viewers ensuring nobody cries foul. The DOP deserves a special mention for the lighting he has used ensuring it get the international feel. The fight sequences are executed quite well. The background absorbs the viewer into the storyline. Every character has depth and the director has managed to bring out layers. The ending was quite apt (though I feel the apology part should have been edited out - some things are better left untold).

Way to go Mr. Sanjay Puransingh Chauhan!

I watched this movie after hearing a lot about all the international awards that were bagged by the film-makers. But after watching Lahore, I realize how much potential Indian film makers have and Indian movies are not all about singing & dancing around trees. About the movie, I would say, watch it for story line which stay on track, the brilliant performance of Aanaahad and Farooq Shaikh, for the brilliantly shot fight sequences (rarely seen in an Indian movie, mostly they are over the top), good background score and lastly, but not the least, the direction and editing. Sanjay Chauhan has done an awesome job, the movie does not loose pace, the script is tight and the viewer gets engrossed very easily into the lives of the characters. I felt the start was a bit confusing (first 5 min) but once the movie unfolds one finds out what is actually going on. I would recommend this to one and all. If movies like this one keep on being made in India, we can actually hope that we can remove the monopoly of the Yash Raj type director/producers from India who think that an Indian viewer has no sense and will watch anything.

For those of you who really liked this movie, please go and watch the American movie "Best of the Best" made in 1989. Yes, this movie is yet another copy from bollywood. What really surprises me is that being a copy of an American film, how can this movie win any award and yet being internationally acclaimed??? This movie doesn't reach up to the original version, Best of the Best. The fight scenes are really not impressive at all. If you see the original movie, you'll be well entertained with great fight sequences and really see the fighters fighting without using any special effects (cables).

Mukesh Rishi looks too old for his character in this movie. Aanahad has good physics and probably a professional kick-boxer in real life too, but as far as acting is concerned, well......

I too like many who watched this movie, read the "internationally acclaimed reviews", but I was disappointed not only by the cliché unoriginal plot (which copies itself from movies such as Best of the Best, KickBoxer, and ever fight movie from the 80s) but also disappointed with the propaganda in the movie.

India and Pakistan have the largest militarized border in the world, fought three wars, and have one of the world's most intense rivalries...I know. But I also know that everywhere in the world OUTSIDE of the South Asian continent Indians and Pakistanis are above all friends. We share a common heritage, culture, and language that transcends the pride we hold. This movie was touted as a fair movie and "tolerant" but it is far from it. Its only accomplishment is to further deepen the rift through inaccurate and racist portrayals. Shame on the movie makers. As for the movies content the fight scenes were far from mediocre, the actors do NOT look like kickboxers, and the plot was very predictable. Being Pakistani I caught myself feeling anger and resentment towards my Indian brothers, and I know had an Indian person watched this they would feel the same towards a Pakistani. Why? As Ghandi (may he rest in peace) said

"We must become the change we want to see."

Mahatma Gandhi quote