Taal

My first introduction to a Hindi movie in the cinema and it certainly won't be my last. This film is lush in its use of colour, music, location and good acting. The cinematography is breathtaking in many areas not least being a wonderful tracking/crane shot over treetops apparently made without the use of a helicopter(the leaves are perfectly still). The story is predictable but welcome and the musical segments hold your attention like a vice. The use of Dolby surround is perfect and the actors make leaving your seat impossible. Even if you don't speak Hindi (as I don't) this movie is well worth the price of admission.

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.

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.

It's an okay Bollywood flick. Cliché story line. What sets it apart from other is the music. After almost 18 years it still one of the master class of a musical that Bollywood ever produced. A R Rahman was at his best. The lyric and sound engineering was almost unparalleled to other Hindi movies.