Cast: Emraan Hashmi

Director: Kunal

Deshmukh

If there is a paradise on earth, it ain’t “Jannat”, it ain’t “Jannat”. Sorry, but director Kunal Deshmukh’s film has little to recommend beyond its name. A beautiful beginning, a tepid middle and a familiar end; the film comes replete with all the stereotypes expected of the Mahesh Bhatt camp film.

There is Emraan Hashmi, almost as predictable a feature of the Bhatt camp as the seven o’ clock shadow on a young man’s face. And is only tolerable.

Then there is Sonal Chauhan, yet another long legged beauty, just like countless others in Bhatt’s films. She is svelte, wears middling hair, covers her top and only a little of her legs. Very little acting ability, nil dancing skills. Just an ability to pout and make the maximum use of those legs, long, almost unending. That was the mantra adopted by the likes of Mrinalini Sharma, Tulip Joshi and others. That is the route chosen for Sonal too. It is familiar territory.

Then there is the mandatory air of melancholy. A couple of songs with passable lyrics and a general rich, urban feel to the film. To off-set gloom, there is a bedroom sequence, and an item number too.

Seen it all? Yes, many times over, right from the time Mahesh Bhatt passed on the directorial baton to the likes of Anurag Basu, Mohit Suri and now Deshmukh. And decided that shadow direction was better. But wait, besides a feeling of familiarity, there is one more thing about this movie that strikes you immediately.

Like “Gangster” and to lesser extent “Dhokha”, this film too takes motley real life incidents and gives them a cloak of fantasy to put together a saga that has several identifiable points but the sum falls short.

When it was launched last year, there was talk of the film being based on the death of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer. Turns it, Woolmer’s death – mentioned almost in passing here – is incidental to the story. As are the oblique references to a former Indian captain with an eye for diamonds and watches.

The masses love it when the director sends out messages, some strong, some subtle through witty dialogues.

For instance, a former captain, later accused of match fixing, is said to be a guy who cannot speak, cannot model. So, he opted for an easier way of making money! Another time, India is shown winning the NatWest trophy, and Mohammed Kaif and Zaheer Khan are at the crease after Yuvraj Singh has done more than his bit.

Amidst all this stands Hashmi as Arjun, an upstart who gets into betting and match fixing because he does not want his child to suffer from the deprivation he experienced as a son of an honest bookseller.

There is Sonal as Zoya to lend romantic appeal. But it is essentially a simplistic storyline that derives its sustenance only from its resemblance to match fixing and betting incidents that hit the headlines a few years ago.

Unfortunately, too much time has lapsed since the cricketers were accused of the worst. And a year after his death Woolmer does not quite ring a bell among the cinemagoers. Ditto for the film. Despite its moments, the film does not quite hold the viewers in a thrall. Amidst a host of non-actors only Javed Sheikh as the betting kingpin makes a mark. Everybody might aspire for “Jannat” but this one here falls short of its name.

ZIYA US SALAM

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail