Beauty Incarnate - Movie Reviews '99

Aa Ab Laut Chalen

Released: 22 January 1999

Character: Pooja

Co-Starring: Akshaye Khanna
Director: Rishi Kapoor
Music Director: Nadeem Shravan

(Review Soon To Be Posted)

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Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam

Released: 18 June 1999

Character: Nandini
Awards Won:
* Filmfare Best Actress
* Screen Videocon Best Actress
* Lux Zee Cine Best Actress

Co-Starring: Ajay Devgan, Salman Khan
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Music Director: Ismail Darbar

      At first I was quite confused watching the movie... rather wasn't prepared for something of this sort. All Her previous movies had Her completely sidelined... merely existing for story sake (if any). Watching Her be the centre of attention in this movie was more than what I could have asked for! A truly visual treat and an extremely emotional affair.
      For starters... its a Hindi movie, secondly its a triangle story... so, found a dash of both, Sangam (RK, Vaijayanthimala & Ranjendra Kumar) - funny, none of the critics figured that out! - and Chandani (Sridevi, Rishi K & Vinod Khanna) in HDDCS. So what's new??? Well, quite a few things are pretty original... shall tell u if I can think of anything! yeah... the base or foundation of the story is pretty original... thank the director for his Gujarati roots.
      GOSH... She looks sooooooo B E A U T I F U L !!! in those traditional clothes and locales..... (yawn... no wonder She's called Beauty Incarnate)the songs though woven beautifully, seem to jut into the movie every now and then with no sense of continuity... they sound almost perfect when you hear just the soundtrack but don't fit in that well in the movie :( "Jhonka Hava ka..." is a master rendition by Hariharan and truly worthy of praise... my personal fav, tho a sad song. While listening to the soundtrack, i thot 'twas a romantic number wherein Ajay sings to Her while She's asleep. (shrug) didnt turn out that way tho. Picturisation.... its a CLASSIC. Two of my fav scenes are... 1. When She slaps salmaan "the poacher" khan at Her sister's wedding & 2. When She kicks salmaan "the poacher" khan just before the "dholi taro" song :) wish She could have hit him harder :(
      All in all, its one helluva movie..... the BEST this year. cast is OBVIOUSLY fabulous (with 1 excepition... salmaan khan) :( Aishwarya Rai at Her Gorgeous Best... and Ajay Devgan at his sensitive best. salmaan doing what he does best... act like a perfect jerk and yeah... do a striptease act.

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Taal

Released: 12th August 1999.

Character: Mansi

Co-Starring: Akshaye Khanna
Director: Subhash Ghai
Music Director: A R Rahman

      "Ishq bina kya jeena yara.... Ishq bina kya marna...." Aaah... watching Her render this beautiful song sends an adrenalin surge through you... feel a sudden chill down your spine as the music fills you with all its divinity and purity. She makes your heart wince with pain as She pours Her heart out at the Skydome.
      Sadly, the English language betrays me when it comes to epithets to describe Her Beauty. As an understatement, I can put it as... an encounter with Beauty Herself... Simplicity and Beauty personified. Be it the coy naiad singing in sweet oblivion in "Taal se taal milaa.." or the shy, demure, daddy's little girl, or be it the modern star out to capture the hearts of us awestruck lesser mortals... Manasi sends one into a trance of a never before experience of True Love. Love for your beloved, Love for your near and dear ones, Love for Life. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Taal for you. Taal - The beat of Passion.
      On the technical side, Taal could have been given a more symphonic beat. The climax pulls on like a chewing gum. A lot is left implied which in most cases leaves the viewer (in general) deranged. True Love is meant to be understood, meant to be felt, and not made explicit. The movie flows beautifully like the streams of Chamba, and then when you almost fool yourself into actually living through the movie, you have Subhash Ghai poping out of nowhere to remind you you are watching a movie. And you have the last scene to remind you its a Hindi movie. A lot has been said about Rehman's magic, which leaves nothing for me to add. Ditto for the picturisation of the songs.
      The transition of Manasi from a simple village girl to an international star has not been depicted with smooth continuity, rather a drastic phase reversal, if I may put it so. Nevertheless She succeeds is making the best of Her script and makes you FEEL every emotion of Her heart as She takes you through Her life's journey.
      Anil Kapoor is probably at his best ever since "1942 - A Love Story". But Akshaye Khanna belies hopes at times, though not completely. So, Ladies and gentlemen, this is Taal for you. Taal - The beat of Passion.

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