Taal

What a breath-taking movie. I loved it from start to finish. I was initially not a very big Aishwayra Rai fan, but after her performance, i have begun to re-evaluate that thought. She was excellent. The rest of the cast was good too. Akshaye Khanna was good in his role, perhaps lacking a bit of conviction, but a more than decent performance.

So the plot? Rich Boy see's poor girl, falls instantly in love, and the uphill battle ensue's for love to prevail. Nothing groundbreaking, but the cinematography was brilliant, and the soundtrack is wqually beautiful, if not better. A must see!

What the heck is a digital floppy camera - and where did they get one with as high a resolution as in the movie? One of the many mysteries of life.

Taal is an average movie. With slightly above average music in the generic mould of A R Rahman.

Subhash Ghai's extensive use of Coke jars throughout the movie, and the hotchpotch of scenes and plotlines stolen from other Hindi movies makes for jarring viewing.

Some very strange things go on in the movie, starting with the casting. Aishwarya Rai, while made of plastic, is beautiful, but rustic she is not. 'Dehati' women (and my knowledge of them may be flawed) seldom sport plucked eyebrows, immaculately waxed legs and shaved armpits. Though of course the alternative would mean audiences would have little to whistle at, so perhaps it is best to let that pass.

Akshaye Khanna's acting seems to consist of making weird faces - an absolute ham, if there ever was one. I'm saddened to see a person of Alok Nath's acting talent reduced to roles such as this. One can expect little else from Amrish Puri, who plays his stock-in-trade with all the same expressions that we have come to live from other brainless flicks. 'Mogambo' all over again.

The movie itself boasts of pathetic lyrics (where do they get the inspiration for this tripe?). Subhash Ghai's guest appearance jars more than an ST bus on the road to Pune.

The only saving grace is Anil Kapoor's acting. Akshaye Kumar would do well to take lessons from him - just the right amount of hamming for the most part (although the sentimental drivel being pushed across as acting by the others seems to affect him too in the end).

To summarize: this movie should never have been made. Take a few scenes from Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Dilwale Dulhaniya and Bombay and paste them together instead. Not that the result would be any better.

Also, the concept of using the Coke bottle for indirect kisses is lifted from Salman Rushdie's book, 'The Moor's Last Sigh.'

The problem is, audiences in India have become so used to worse films that rotten pig-kidneys like this movie become hits and the standards stay low all the time.

The plot of this film is the usual bollywood fare, poor girl, rich boy, disapproving family. The acting and the script are the usual yada yada. So what makes this movie incredible? It is A MIND BLOWING AUDIO/VISUAL TREAT! At the end of the movie, I was frozen! I could only exhale a modest "WOW". Someone pulled out all the stops for choreography, costuming, scene dressing and location! Your eyes and ears will thank you! The overwhelming beauty of this film together with the fantastic rendering of songs makes you want to get up and dance. Scene after scene make you want to gasp. I highly recommend it. Only Aishwarya Rai could have done this, her eternal beauty with the backdrop of India are the show stoppers. Must see!

I just watched the movie, after 11 years of its release; got totally involved in the movie. It was stunning, especially considering the fact that I already knew the story. Although any bollywood fan can predict the story, but interesting part is its execution, its flow. One thing that may disappoint you is one of the metaphor used for love(sharing cold drink). I am not a great fan of love at first sight, but in this case simplicity of characters and naturalism of dialogues/thoughts will force you to digest that. Apart from being wonderfully musical it seems to me the most romantic movie of the decade, rich in family values, close to reality in many aspects. I would say it is must watch for any romantic musical person. I am gonna buy the DVD as soon as my pocket allows me.

Early in the film, Akshaye Khanna is shown basically stalking Aishwaria Rai and secretly taking photos of her while she's bathing and undressing, and then hangs all the photos on his wall and sits there and looks at them. So I thought this movie was going to be a "psycho-stalking" movie. But then my wife explained to me that in Indian movies, the standard way of developing a romantic story is to show the man stalking the woman and obsessing over her in a fashion which might, in other cultures, be considered criminal behavior. Armed with this new found knowledge, I was able to enjoy the movie. The music of A.R. Rahman, who appears to carry the burden of creating the music for every one of the 400 movies to come out of Bombay every year, is catchy and the stars look good.