| Deccan Chornicle's Review |
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| Written by Profiler | |
| May 29, 2006 at 07:09 PM | |
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CAST: Aamir Khan, Kajol, Tabu and Rishi Kapoor DIRECTOR: Kunal Kohli RATING: *** Films have overdosed audiences on terrorists (and gangsters), so Fanaa, the love story of a terrorist and a Kashmiri girl, already gives you a sense of déjà vu. The kernel of the plot, of a destructive love, is similar to Mani Ratnam’s Dil Se. With stars and a generous budget at his disposal, Kunal Kohli may have crafted a goodlooking film, but a filmmaker can’t take a contentious issue like Kashmir militancy and treat it like fluff. Even when no sides are taken, it is not a matter to be taken so lightly. Blind Kashmiri girl Zooni (Kajol) visits Delhi with friends and falls in love with her tour guide Rehan (Aamir Khan), who is a bad poet and incorrigible flirt. He has no redeeming feature, and he admits as much, but Zooni pursues him with a persistence till he admits to loving her in return. This takes up the first half of the film, a light but otherwise unsatisfactory love story, in it gives no sense of being a magnificent obsession, except that you are expected to believe it is. Aamir Khan and Kajol look fantastic together and so this part is watchable thanks to them. Not to give away too much, Rehan disappears from her life and when he returns there is a storm, literally and figuratively. She discovers eventually he is a terrorist, and she has to decide if her love is greater or her patriotism. (Guess!) The middle when Rehan returns to Zooni’s home in the desolate, lonely part of Kashmir (shot in Poland) and tries to wrestle with his own feelings for her, sags terribly, more so because you know which way the story is headed. The Indian army is in hot pursuit of Rehan because he is in possession of a stolen weapon of mass destruction (which everyone keeps in their pocket in full view of anybody who cares to look!), but take their own sweet time getting their act together, as the Intelligence Officer (Tabu, panther sleek) keeps barking “do something” kind of orders and her male colleagues sneer at her! (Sexism or criticism of male chauvinism?) Despite the film having these many segments, Kohli concentrates on the romance, but his attitude of sympathy towards Rehan is dicey, because the man’s a killer after all, even if he starts having a change of heart. And Zooni, first blind, and later vulnerable comes across as too desperate. It is the skill and considerable magnetism of the two lead actors, that covers up a lot of the film’s flaws. Rishi Kapoor lends admirable support as Zooni’s father. As the story moves locations, Ravi K. Chandran is able to work with light and textures to give the film a wonderful look. Then there’s the hype, the promotion and clout of a big banner... Fanaa has its destiny cut out for it... |
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