Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey is an honest and sincere effort by Ashutosh Gowarikar put together with a lot of hardwork. Now, a lot of the times, such efforts may not work out on the screen but in the case of this movie, it results in a great piece of cinema.

Before going to the movie, I was discussing about the young deaths which had occurred during India's freedom struggle. Some one like Bhagat Singh was only 23. The film starts with youngsters playing football and the British taking over their play ground. All through the first half, a lot of screen time is dedicated to these youngsters.

It is important to understand the Ashutosh Gowarikar style of film making here. He is a director who likes to make the audiences feel his films and he does it by etching out a screenplay which has a pace of it's own. A lot of people find it slow but if it was faster, you wouldn't get the time to not only realise, but to absorb and understand the dreams and aspirations of the people on screen.

The story of the Chittagong uprising is one of the less popular epsiodes of the Indian freedom struggle So it is great that Gowarikar has brought this story into the mainstream. Through the movie, you feel regarding and remember not only the freedom fighters of the Chittagong uprising but all the unnamed people who took it upon themselves to fight to free India. A son tells his father that they will not sell imported clothes any more, a mother gives his son Rs. 100 to contribnute to the freedom struggle and it is about the sacrifices (small or large) of the common man who wants India free. The teenagers who fought in the Chittagong uprising were as common as they come. You see scene after scene of these young freedom fighters. It is really a homage to the many, many Indians who wanted India free and contributed towards that end.

When the film ends, photographs of the people who fought in the Chittagong uprising are shown side by side with that of the actors who depicted them. A lot of them are very similar in not just the fact that they wore spectacles but even in the hairstyles. It is testament to the amount of detail which has gone into making this film. That detail is scene every where in the film whether it be in the way the characters dress, the sets or the sceneries. In the second half landscapes of Bengal are recreated when the freedom fighters are on the run and it is really very well done. 8/10.

Ashutosh Gowariker is a talented Storyteller. His Oscar-Nominated Epic-Hit 'Lagaan' was amongst the best films of it's time, 'Swades' was a touching film, that has now become a cult-classic. 'Jodhaa Akbar' was another milestone he churned out. 'What's Your Raashee?', however was a letdown.

'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey', also isn't Gowariker, at his best. This period piece/patriotic has a strong first hour, but a long & weak second hour, spoil it's impact.

Based on the Chittagong Uprising of 1930, 'Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey' tells the story of Surjya Sen, a prominent Bengali freedom fighter, an Indian independence activist and the chief architect of anti-British freedom movement in Chittagong, Bengal, who, with his people created a revolution, that eventually let India get independence.

As mentioned, the first hour is absolutely terrific. The entire build-up to the revolution keeps you at the grip. But, the second hour plays a spoilsport. Also, the excessive running-time of over 3 hours, needed some trimming. Even the climax for that matter, doesn't leave the desired impact.

Ashutosh Gowariker knows his job, and he has proved his caliber as a filmmaker time and again. He directs each frame with the accurate detail, but the weak writing in the second hour, pulls him down. Cinematography is outstanding! Editing needed to be sharper. Music by Sohail Sen is passable.

Performance-Wise: Abhishek is efficient as Surjya Sen. Deepika Padukone does an okay job. Sikander Kher is fair, while Vishakha Singh is sincere. Mahinder Singh is good. Shreyas Pandit is flawless. Others lend good support.

On the whole, A One-Time Watch, that could've been much more, if it had a better second hour.

The intermission of this nearly three hour film serves as an automatic marker at how Gowariker planned the narrative, the first half being the introduction, characterization and planning stage that we get to witness going behind any schemes of this nature of an armed struggle, where the definition of whether one is a terrorist or freedom fighter, is naturally decided in context by the victor in history. A lot of time goes into establishing the character of Masterda Surya Sen, played by Abhishek Bachchan as the school teacher who indoctrinates his class, and other followers of his exploits, into the need to drive the British out and to attain freedom for India, starting with Chittagong (present day located in Bangladesh).

In some ways this film has shed some light that those who persist in armed struggles, never really changed the essence of their modus operandi much. It starts off with a charismatic leader and his ideology, a band of faithful followers, and a mass recruitment of those who have faced the wrong end of oppression, eager to join the cause to exact some form of revenge, now elevated to a greater struggle for something way above the petty personal objectives. We observe how resources get assembled, from the raising of funds through whatever means possible, even if it means in kind instead of cash.

Target surveillance becomes the must do as well in order to prepare for that strategic attacks, and from what we can learn from history, simultaneous attacks on key targets isn't something that's conceived in the new era, but has been used a long time back, with the revolutionaries keeping in mind the importance of timing, and to hit places controlling communications, weapons depot, and of course the places where the foreigners congregate. There's this sense of chill when watching the film, because these are lessons obviously not learnt, and it's about time we wise up to see that the jungle too serves as an attractive training ground away from prying eyes and ears either to train on weapon handling, or to assemble explosives.

But for the gripping set up, the second half turned out to be somewhat of a letdown, and I do not mean what had actually happened in history, which of course cannot be changed lest this film becomes a farce. There were enough elements here that made it the action packed second half it was meant to be, with the firing of weapons and the proverbial Murphy paying the revolutionaries a visit and really screwing up their plans. All these translated to edge of your seat excitement worthy of any thriller, and we see how the execution of the plan turn the perpetrators from hunters into prey.

A lot of things got muted in the movie, which is something not quite typical of an Ashutosh Gowariker film. Known for the opulence and grandeur of his productions, this one seemed a little bit toned down and stripped down to reflect the state of the revolutionaries, being required to work with bare minimum resources, and with faulty intelligence as well, being caught off guard in their plans, especially the more critical factors in ammunition and prisoners / hostages. It's quite back to basics for Gowariker, whom I felt if given the allowance for a longer runtime like almost all his previous works, could have told a more complete and robust story.

Abishek Bachchan performed credibly as the legendary historical character, although the storyline, in having a number of notable revolutionaries to focus on, tended to dilute the importance of his character, and hence an opportunity for him to shine. Deepika Padukone plays Kalpana Dutta, also another historical character, and the much talked about scene is of her character playing badminton in her introduction was relatively short to begin with. The actress continues to be paired opposite big name counterparts, but is able to hold her own without being awed. There's some romantic tension between the two lead characters here, though it served more as a distraction and soon got canned before it even had the chance to start.

As it stands, most of the last act turned out to be quite rushed, with fairly little being given to characterization, opting instead for quick resolution often through action sequences which do get tired after a while. Englishmen all play the token bad guys, and we don't see a lot as to how nasty they actually are, as compared to the oppression dished out by those portrayed in Lagaan. The courtroom drama also seemed to be cursory rather than to provide for a platform, and lacked the usual legalese oomph to have made an impact to an audience, having everything seem a little bit routine, well, even if it may be true in real life. Music by Sohail Sen, who had worked on the previous Gowariker film What's Your Rashee, is commendable, especially its rousing themes that will get to grow on you.

This is Ashutosh Gowariker's equivalent of Braveheart or any other freedom fighters' struggle to gain freedom for their motherland, but we could all have benefited from a little bit more of walking around inside Masterda Surjya Sen and going deeper into his beliefs and motivation. While it's still an epic scale and its presentation of the opening credits mimics that of epic greats, it somehow didn't manage to live up to its potential that we know Gowariker is capable of, and this is coming from a fan.

Once again Ashutosh brings us in a era of his Dream..throughout the movie you can relate yourself with the heart touching sounds of vande-mataram. Not only for its patriotism and not just for your love for your country...there are a lot more reasons to watch this notable milestone..First of all its not always easy to handle a true historic event in such balanced manner...but Ashutosh did it great again...no need to worry that movie is based on Bengali...as Ashu sir knows that cinema is a media to reach out everyone...only a few accent gives it touch of Bangla...I don't no why people criticize Abhishek again and again but he is one of the unique actors in industry...if Ashu Sir, Mani sir and all big names in industry have trust in Him..what the hell this critics writing so much against him...Heads of to Abhishek for such excellent acting...Deepika is also making justice with the Role...and one of the finest acting by others..including Sikander, Vishakha and all the teenagers...That's all from my side go and watch this...a must watch...

Continuing with his craft of making movies on the literary works of renowned writers, Ashutosh returns to the Historical genre with his "KHELEIN HUM JEE JAAN SE" which surprisingly gets released without any great publicity in the media.

As a Historical movie on a lesser known, Independence movement of Chittagong witnessed in 1930. Looking at the movie from this angle, it is indeed a highly authentic depiction of the historical event of 1930 made with utmost honesty and sincerity. The story is about a team of few young Freedom Fighters allowing the help of more than 50 teenager boys in their violent freedom movement. Ashutosh has no doubt taken care of every little detail of that time and the people involved in it with a superb vision of his own. And along with that, we should be highly thankful to him, to enlighten us all about this hidden chapter of our Indian Independence movement which was not known to most of its viewers living in the Northern Region.

As an artistic project, the film is perfect with great art direction and cinematography, bringing the period of 1930 alive on the screen with near perfection. But I really wish the same perfection had been there in its writing department too which is too slow paced, lengthy and even uninteresting at regular intervals. The costume designing also is just limited to white kurtas being worn by almost everyone in the team and doesn't come up with a great show as required. The film starts at a very lazy note and never picks up in its entire first half, due to which the viewer loses his every hope to see anything great or exceptional from the director with a great line-up in the past. Post intermission too, though the narration picks up with all the action sequences unfolding on the screen, but still its execution is certainly not anything close to Ashutosh's own set standards in his previous films.

The most annoying part of the movie is the portrayal of all the British Officials, who quite shockingly act and look like characters of some school or university stage play. Even the casting of all the actors posing as Britishers is way below the mark and overlooked.

Along with this, the other biggest failure of the film is that it is not able to generate the much needed patriotic feeling in the viewer, which should be a must in a film made on a real-life independence movement. Honestly, the only time I felt patriotic with blood running faster in my veins was when I saw the real pictures of the actual teenager freedom fighters lying dead on the ground (shown in the end credits).

Reviewing KHELEIN HUM JEE JAAN SE on the basis of a movie experience alone is a hurting job as the film has got nothing to offer as far as entertainment is concerned to the audience. In clear words, for most of the viewers it may be quite painful to watch it right till the end.

Putting it differently, actually What a common viewer wishes to feel when he is going to watch a film made on a historical event of Indian Independence? He undoubtedly wants to feel the action, smell the gun powder and would like to give a standing ovation clapping loud at the end of the movie feeling proud to be a citizen of the current world power, India. That was the reason which converted both GADAR & LAGAAN into such big hits. Or on the other side, a film made on the Indian patriotic movement should be so sensitive and emotional that it should make every viewer in the theater go numb with wet eyes in the end as in SHAHEED & GARAM HAWA. Unfortunately, KHELEIN HUM JEE JAAN SE can neither be called as a powerful uplifting movie nor as an emotional enriching experience.

Musically its again a weak soundtrack chosen by the director for his film which ideally should have been a song less movie as per the requirement of its theme. The Background music too is not so engrossing which can take a particular sequence to a different level. Amusingly the "Vande Matram" song running with the end credits made me remember the decades old song from ANANDMATH 1952)which still remains the most inspiring melody composed with the patriotic words of VANDE MATRAM.

Performance wise, KHJJS has some appreciable performances coming from its entire supporting cast other than the lead pair. The whole supporting team of Abhishek along with all the young teenager actors, surely deserves praises for their effortless acts in the film. However I couldn't applaud the casting choices made by Ashutosh in his current project for his lead pair, since both Abhishek and Deepika were not looking great in their out of the routine roles. With quite few scenes in the movie, Deepika is not able to take away the glamour off her face. Still I found her much better than all her previous movies since her debut film. On the other hand, there is a vast difference in the charactersation of Abhishek in pre and post interval of the movie. And for this the blame should actually go to his director.

So as a conclusion, KHJJS cannot be rated as one of the best works of anyone in its entire team including the actors, writers and the director. However, only the ART DIRECTOR can proudly use this movie in his repertoire at the top and it can also be applauded as a pure ORIGINAL in the present Hindi Films scenerio dealing with Inspirations from the West.

Ending on an entertaining note, I still rate the use of "DOGS AND INDIANS NOT ALLOWED" by Manmohan Desai in his Amitabh Bachchan starrer MARD as the best way of addressing the issue on the wide screen.