Aitraaz

The first time I started watching this movie, in first ten seconds I realize that this is copy cat from movie "Disclosure". (I doubt if director has actually read the original novel). The scene where Raj pats his secretary's bottom directly gave me this hint. I was very disappointed, and then watch this movie, just for the sake of watching without any interest. But later, when I saw it on Television, I found it interesting. Right from the songs, music, story-telling, acting, everything is great.

Raj who is now married and living happy life, gets a shock when his ex-girlfriend enters in his life as his Boss. She demands having sex with him, and he refuses. Hurt Priyanka (Boss/ and ex girlfriend) put a blame on him, as a rapist. Raj certainly not happy with this, puts a case on her in court. Finally with the help of his lawyer wife Kareena he proves that women can sometime have negative characteristics in case of sex.

The story actually starts with the meeting of Kareena and Akshay, and slowly catch the main theme. Songs are pretty good and so overall music. Actingwise, Akshay is very good. Kareena and Priyanka are impressive in their characters. Director has done an excellent job, in bringing out drama slowly in the movie. Overall though, it is a copy cat movie, you will not regret watching it. (Now I own DVD of this movie.)

Mukta Arts and Abbas Mastan-this dhoti clad duo have unique angle to film making as they did with "Humraaz", which was one of the most entertaining films of the last decade. This duo have choreography style that is innovative and refreshing compared to the pot-boiler tasteless gyrating that is usually seen in Salman Khan movies. The music of Himmesh Reshmiya is always a distinguishing feature of their movies. There are two numbers that have his stamp. There are two actors that stand out-one is Paresh Rawal- this actor can turn a scene however short into a hilarity. As a prosecuting attorney Rawal is the Court-jester bringing the audience down with some of the best dialog in the movie. In fact A-M duo cleverly use this scene as their comedy interlude that is by tradition reserved for children of lesser talent like Shakti Kapoor, Johny lever and the clan. There have been seductive vixens and stunning looking actresses on the Indian cinema but Priyanka Chopra is an all in one. This Chopra girl who made an entry with "The Hero" never looked more gorgeous-this woman certainly has the skills with the killer looks. Akshay Kumar is acting, when you consider that the Indian audience is used to the overacting from the likes of SharRukh Khan. Kareena Kapoor is okay but she could have been more dramatic in the Court, instead of her parrot like dialog delivery. I enjoyed this movie considering the recent filth in the name of Cinema that has been coming out of the "Maximum City".

'Aitraaz' is another fare made by the directors duo Abbas-Mustan. And once again, it is... well, unoriginal. 'Disclosure' is the word. However, speaking objectively, I found Aitraaz totally enjoyable and intriguing, and was thoroughly entertained by the proceedings. The direction was very good and the film was well-executed. It is about a man named Raj who is accused of trying to molest his old manager's young wife Sonia, who actually happens to be his ex-girlfriend, while in fact, she was the one who tried to sexually harass him and he refused, being a married man. Well, this is not very believable, but that's another story. This case is taken to court where Raj's wife Priya, who is a lawyer and who has full trust in her husband, decides to fight his case against seasoned lawyer Patel who represents Sonia. There start the film's most entertaining and interesting sequences. Aitraaz stars Akshay Kumar as Raj, and he does well. Kareena Kapoor is also very good as his protective wife Priya, though she has little to do until the film's last few scenes. But Aitraaz fully belongs to Priyanka Chopra, who is simply amazing in an all-out villainous turn as the vicious and devious manipulator Sonia. She is so sexy and attractive that it sounds puzzling that someone could reject her. This is among her most memorable performances. Other cast members include Amrish Puri in one of his last film appearances, and Paresh Rawal, who is outstanding as the witty and funny lawyer Patel. The film's soundtrack, by Himesh Reshammiya, was not that enjoyable according to me. The ending was very good. Aitraaz may not be exceptional, it may not be original, but it is a very entertaining movie. I recommend you to watch it mainly for Priyanka Chopra.

Akshay have affairs with Priyanka, they break up for Priyanka as she wants her career more than anything. Years later Akshay pair with Kareena and marries. Priyanka, as her high ambitions, marries the boss of Akshay. Akshay has little feelings and Priyanka takes advantage of this. But later it makes a chaos and Akshay is accused to attempt to rape whereas he accuse Priyanka the same. That means, a man is accusing a woman to attempting rape. As the wife, Kareena herself lead the court case. The songs are very good. Priyanka does well. Kareena also not bad. Paresh Rawal was very very good. Amrish Puri is also very good. But Akshay is not, his acting I don't like. Could have been done well by other heroes.

Coming from the celebrated directorial team of 'Baazigar' (*Shah Rukh Khan) and 'Soldier' (*Bobby Deol), this one merits watching. The plot outline of Barry Levinson's gripping 1994 drama 'Disclosure' (starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore) has been nicely Indianized. There is no question that it is a remake of that Hollywood production, although the latter had a second plot-twist that Aitraaz doesn't provide.

Chances are that majority of the Indian audience may not have seen Disclosure and, therefor, will love Aitraaz. It is again proved conclusively that a good story-line and good storytelling are two absolute essentials in making a good film. Look at 'Ashoka' (starring Shah Rukh Khan). Lush photography, proved story-material, and what happens? Why does it bomb at the box office? Simply because such a gorgeous story wasn't told with consistency and well.

It happens. A proved material may bomb on revision because of uninspired direction (example: Hitchcock's 1960 classic 'Psycho' remade in 1998 by Gus Van Sant). Sometimes the opposite happens: 2001 remake of 1960's 'Ocean's Eleven' actually eclipsed the original.

See Aitraaz. The soundtrack is scintillating. The story is good. The direction is superb. Priyanka Chopra is exceptional. Kareena Kapoor is superb. Akshay Kumar is adequate. You'll like the film.