Shabd

My initial impression about this movie was that it would be yet another love story( which i hate so much i can't tell you ), but still decided to watch it as i didn't get the tickets for 'Black'. But i'll say that this movie is different and that was the precise reason, i liked it. The movie is all about an author Shaukat ( Sanjay Dutt ), a very complicated character played brilliantly by Sanju. He is a booker-prize winner author whose last book was discarded by all for being very 'unreal'. So after a gap of 2 years, he decides to write a 'real' story.... I won't go into much details of his adventure...he asks her wife(aishwarya) to have a romantic relationship with a younger guy(Zayed), and he writes on the events taking place in their lives ... he tries to dictate the scenarios....tries to predict everything that will happen in their lives just as he predicts the fate of the characters in his book... Sanjay Dutt has given a great performance...aish is looking beautiful..and zayed is as always average... One thing that i didn't like about this movie is that the actors were crying a lot more that was expected/necessary in the situations....anyway, a good movie by a debutant director...

Leena Yadav's surprising "Shabd" (2005) is probably the most unfairly overlooked Hindi film in recent times: its box office fate was bleak, the reviews churlish, its theme dubbed too bizarre for India. One might thus be excused for thinking the film merited a pass; one would be wrong: "Shabd" is one of Bollywood's more interesting offerings in recent years, and features fine performances from Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai to boot. The latter's efforts in particular should lay to rest the fallacy that she cannot act to save her life. Rather, as "Chokher Bali," "Raincoat" and now "Shabd" have shown, Ms. Rai needs the right script and the right director to shine. Indeed the skepticism of movie critics about her abilities says more about our collective unwillingness to appreciate non-dramatic artistes than about Ms. Rai's lack of acting talent. Leena Yadav has done a fantastic job with "Shabd," and viewers willing to lend themselves to the film will find that it holds their attention throughout with a taut script that only flags a bit towards the very end of the film. Boiled down to its essentials, "Shabd" is about a one-time celebrated writer, Shaukat Vasisht (Sanjay Dutt)-- whose most recent novel has failed miserably-- and his wife Antara Vasisht (played by Aishwarya Rai in a nuanced performance), and Shaukat's attempts to redeem himself by means of a new book that he has begun to write. The film is, according to Ms. Yadav, about the thin line separating reality from fiction...

continued at: http://qalandari.blogspot.com/2005/08/shabd.html

I said that I was going to re-post after I watched the movie and restate if my feelings still remains. I watched the movie today and it was okay. My expectations weren't too high for this movie, and the movie wasn't as bad as I read it would be. The main thing that took me off is Zayed Khan as Yash. I think his acting did not fit well and there was no connection or chemistry between him and Aishwarya (he also doesn't look well on screen with Aishwarya). He was just wrongly casted for the part or maybe he just didn't do justice. Even after Tamara told Yash she was married, I didn't have any type of affection or remorse towards Yash or Tamara and Yash's relationship (I think I was more happy that she told him to just Yash out of the picture)--it was just blend. The humor was confusing (yash humor especially) and not funny. I know when I re-watch this movie, I would forward through it.

Another thing is the intro of the movie and the actors. I don't think it captured the audience as much as it should have. Again, when Yash was introduced I found him rather annoying. Aishwarya and Sanjay's acting abilities did not fall short especially towards the ending. Sanjay played well as a confused writer who got fiction and reality confused and Aishwarya as the victim in Shaukat's fiction and reality.

The art in this film is also very good and beautiful. Overall, this movie has the potential to be a really good film with some changes; unfortunately, it fell short with the blend acting, chemistry, lack to carry out the concept story, and lack to get the audience interested with the characters.

7.5 out of 10 mainly for some direction and art concept of the movie. I appreciate Aishwarya more in films such as Raincoat, Chokher Bali, HDDCS, and Devdas.

I am a total admirer of the director of the movie (Leena Yadav) for making such a true-to-the-heart, wonderful movie ! The movie is very artistically abstract in some sense ! It deals with the illusions of a creative mind, certain aspects of writers block! Quite thought provoking indeed.

The subject matter has never been dealt in Hindi cinema before (I do not consider myself an expert in Hindi cinema, but I can say that to some certainty).

The cinematography is average. There are some interesting colors probably thanks to art director, but overall the production quality is average.

Music ----- Honestly I can write few pages about the music of the movie. Till date, I think its the best out of Vishal-Shekhar's stable!

Each song is a winner!

'Lo shuru ab ..chahaton ka silsila' has two versions in the album, by Kumar Sanu & Udit N. But I couldn't see Udit N's version on the film. And definitely, in entire 2005 this is the only song by Sanu that registers. Thanks to V-S to have made Sanu sing without his usual 'airy' voice! Didn't like opening of 'Sholon si..' - sounded too close to Smooth by Santana! (that's my only complain about the music of the movie). Great voice on the track by Vishal btw. Goes very well with Sanjay Dutt's role/persona in the movie. Similiarly, Sonu Nigam's voice suits very well for Zayed. 'Bolo to' & 'Khoya Khoya' are great ! 'Mat jaa' is a great ballad sung by Sukhwinder! Great music and some soulful guitar played by Warren Mendonsa (of Zero). Whoever played the drums, did a great job! I started listening to the music of this movie long before the movie was released and I was truly hooked to the entire album. Kudos to V-S!

Acting ------ Sanjay Dutt gets 8/10 - considering Sanju's acting ability, this is probably his career best! Zayed is alright (7/10) and AishRai is below avg (4/10).

The movie is a recipe for commercial failure, but I must appreciate PNC (Pritish & Rangita Nandi) to have produced it (for the sake of art, may be), and to have had trust with the débutante director Leena Yadav.

Just came back watching the movie and I should say it beautifully portrays the mind of a writer. The way he thinks when writing a novel and things he goes through. It really happens when you're writing some stories and get so deep inside the thoughts that you don't realize what the truth is.

Sanjay Dutt and Aishwarya Rai pair's up really nice. Things would have been much better if Zayed Khan wouldn't have been the part of this story. You surely wanted a more dedicated and good performer like Saif Ali Khan or Hritik Roshan.

Overall, I would rate this film as 7 out of 10 and would encourage an applause from the audience.