Bewafaa

I cannot believe I wasted my money on this horrible film. A ghastly storyline, none of the characters have any depth - in fact I did not feel a shred of empathy for any of the characters. Kareena Kapoor, who I usually like, spent the entire film with her eyes wide open looking shocked (and was otherwise utterly expressionless). This I blame (as well as everything else) on truly bad directing. They drone on and on about Indian culture and renouncing of the self for the good of others - but none of it seemed genuine. The main characters sleepwalked through the performance, and I do not understand how talented actors like Anil Kapoor could have agreed to "acting" in this. The side characters of Manoj Bajpai and Shamita Shetty only serve to annoy. I am still reeling in horror at the fact that I wasted my time in this utterly pointless manner. Save yourselves, don't even stray close.

To be honest I have not been a fan of Dharmesh Darshans films. He has an knack of remaking classic films and making an absolute hash of it. Raja Hindustani was a remake of 60's classic Jab Jab Phool Kile, Mela was a remake of Sholay and now we have Bewaffa, which is a remake of Gumrah. There is not really a script to speak of just a chain of sequences. Not even the performances are noteworthy, the person that sticks out is Manoj Bajpai who overacts through all of his scenes.

The only redeeming factor is the music by Darshan loyalist, Nadeem Shravan. My favourites are either the title song or Yaad. I am now dreading to see what classic he makes an hash of next, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai(Oh no) Amar Akbar Anthony (Oh good no). Avoid at all costs.

If you've seen Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, then you'll know what I am talking about when I say that the idea for the story came from the 90s blockbuster. I'm going to start of with the performances. Akshay Kumar's performance is well below average; he doesn't do much and his costumes don't do him any favours. Kareena Kapoor is also well below average, and the way in which she's acted in the film doesn't convince the viewer that she can do those kinds of roles. Sushmita Sen was OK, as was Anil Kapoor. The music is good. The two best tracks are 'ek bewafaa hai' and 'yaad yaad'. The direction though, it has to be said, is quite bad, but the screenplay is OK.

Overall: this film is a waste of time. I give it 3/10.

This is boring and a disappointment from Dharmesh and Sridevi.The direction is plain bad.The dialogs are worse.The story is boring.It tells about Anjali who is from Canada.Her sister Aarti is pregnant.She loves Raja.Before she can marry him Aarti dies giving birth to twins.She has to marry Aartis husband Aditya.You would next thing that Aditya would realize Anjali and Rajas feelings and both wold get married.Noooooooooooooooo.She marries Aditya and goes to India.Then later comes Raja.Akshay is wasted and suffers from poor direction,dialogs.Anil is wasted.Kareena is useless as always.Kabir and Nafisha are wooden.Manoj and Shamitha are irritating and are annoying big time.Sushmitha is wasted ..The cinematography is tacky and unimaginative.The screenplay is utterly predictable.The story is a rip off.The songs are forgettable.The only memorable song was Kaise Piya.The others are forgettables.Cheap sets,Camp Wardrobe,Corny dialogs,Forgettable songs and plastic performances are no excuse for entertainment.Above Average stuff .Sucks big time.Avoid it.To cheer you up a bit this is much better than the overrated torturous"Bunty Aur Bubly"

'Hum Aapke Hain Bewafaa Dhadkan'

Bewafaa Dir- Dharmesh Darshan Cast- Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Sushmita Sen, Manoj Bajpai, Shamita Shetty and Anil Kapoor. Written by- Robin Bhatt, Dharmesh Darshan and Raj Sinha. Rating- **

There is this game where you watch a movie, go back home and think of different alternate endings to it. After the many versions, if the actual ending still seems more interesting then you've lost. Dharmesh Darshan probably played this game after watching Sooraj Barjatya's 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun…' and his very own 'Dhadkan'. Mr. Darshan must've thought- what if Madhuri Dixit had actually married Mohnish Behl in the former and Sunil Shetty had returned in the latter to find Shilpa Shetty willing to leave hubby Akki? Now develop these plots, and what you get is a fair idea of Darshan's 'Bewafaa'. Sadly, even though Mr. Darshan must've considered his endings more interesting, he still is the loser!

Welcome then to the shakalaka baby family in Montreal, Canada. We have papa Kabir Bedi, firang(?) mummy Nafisa Ali, badi beti Sushmita Sen and chotti beti Kareena Kapoor. Sen is Aarti, married to Aditya(Anil Kapoor)- a businessman(we're not quite sure what business he does?) who has little time for his family and probably mistakes his wife for a personal assistant! Aarti dies, leaving behind two twin daughters. You guessed it right! Within a reel, chotti beti Anjali(Kareena) is married off to Aditya and sent packing to New Delhi. Living in a loveless marriage, her life is provided a pacemaker with the return of her former love, hold your breath, Indian Raja?!?(Akshay Kumar)- a popular popstar. Old flames are lit again and the lovers decide to elope. But there's a spooky couple(Manoj Bajpai & Shamita Shetty) to cope! Oh nope!! The audience is left with no hope!!! Follow a predictable storyline then to a tiring climax where everything is restored. The audience is bored. Yeh dil manage no more!!!

The whole movie is riddled with songs that emerge out of nowhere like land mines in a war zone! Mind you- the songs are good to listen, they are just not used properly. The first half drags along with only the beautiful sights of Montreal keeping you interested. The second half promises a similar fate but things are made lively with the entrance of Dil(Manoj Bajpai) and Pallavi(Shamita Shetty). Bordering on the line of vulgarity, Manoj Bajpai delivers a hammy performance but there is a guilty pleasure in watching his antics. A tip Mr. Darshan- publicize Bajpai's character. Kareena is passable(sorry Bebo, 'Bewafaa' won't do for you what 'Raja Hindustani' did for Lolo) while Sush is seriously challenging the position of Simi Garewal as Miss Grace. It is common knowledge that Akshay Kumar has a cocky attitude which can be used to his advantage when cast in roles similar to the ones he essayed in 'Khakee', 'Aankhen' and 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'. But here as a lover boy, he is at his stolid best! That leaves us with Anil Kapoor. This man is like wine- he's only getting better with age. In a thankless role, he acts his part with dignity. Only for him and a fairly decent second-half, 'Bewafaa' is not as bad as it sounds!

• Abhishek Bandekar

Rating- **

* Poor ** Average *** Good **** Very Good ***** Excellent

25th February, 2005