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(Out of 5) |
Afterthoughts
First of all, let's get this out of the way. This was not a bad movie, per se. It had lots of enjoyable moments, and the music was fun as well. The comedic moments were often quite funny, and none of the actors did a bad job.
Now, let's get to the gripes. Is this a comedy? At times. Is it a revenge movie? Yes, also at times. I'm all for spicing up an otherwise cookie-cutter movie with elements of another style, but this film in particular had a hard time doing that well. The stunts Raju pulls to agitate his father are often times extremely cruel and even illegal in some cases. Raju comes very close to ruining the family, and that seems a little harsh in an otherwise humorous movie. Bear in mind none of the tricks or schemes are done with a "cartoon" feel or silly tone. For example, the long running "Home Alone" series shows incredible violence done against the crooks, but it's all handled as if they were never really that hurt. When Raju's doing his damage, it's done with a cruel intent and threatening tone. I think that's somewhat inappropriate for an otherwise family-oriented movie. I just couldn't understand why he'd be that destructive for that long. In the end he realized he was hurting Smita, Rinkie, Bunty, and Grandpa the whole time, and they were all completely innocent. So at least he did eventually realize this, but it made Raju a hard character to cheer for while all his shenanigans were going on.
Also, Rajesh's reaction to the discovery of a lost son didn't quite ring true to me. Sure, I'd be suspicious too if I were a prestigious businessman who had strangers showing up claiming to be related, but the whole rest of the movie could have been spared if he had just gone through with the DNA test at the beginning. Ah well.
The whole transplant angle was a little bit of a surprise to me, so a few kudos for that one. Didn't see that one coming!
Salman Khan (Raju) did a fine job. I have no complaints with his performance, only with what he was asked to do. I've seen quite a few of his films now, and he's a consistently good actor. I look forward to seeing more of his work.
Rishi Kapoor (Rajesh) also did well. he had some of the sillier scenes in the show, but he did do a good job of showing a man who is terrified of a secret past being revealed. Although some of his scenes were bordering on overacting, he still did a fine job.
Anupam Kher (Robin) gave us one of his silly performances this time out. In some cases he is allowed to have both his dramatic and comedic skills put to use, but this time out it was 95% goofy. That isn't to say he didn't play his part well, but just in my humble opinion he is more suited to the serious roles.
Amisha Patel (Sonia) was a newcomer for me. She's very pretty, seems to have a good time during the fun scenes, and is a very good dancer. I look forward to seeing her again.
Negatives:
Confusion on the tone of the movie. Half the time it was supposed to be funny, other times it was serious and threatening. Had they gone one way or the other, it may have worked. However both in one made for a little disorientation.
Not to beat a dead horse here, but once again we have people engaged in brutal physical combat in public with not even a hint of the consequences.
Positives:
Good music. Yes, they used "Carbon Copy" a few too many times, but on the whole the soundtrack was catchy and fun.
Well made. Only a couple of minor technical glitches here and there.
It was nice to see Salman Khan in a role that wasn't all serious, all the time. He usually the tough fighter type, but this time he got to show off his acting chops as well as his karate ones.
Amisha Patel is quite a dancer! She didn't have a whole lot else to do in this movie, but she did well with the role she was given.
I saw this "extra" cameraman during the performance of "Aankhein Pyari Hai." Too bad his footage was not included in the Extras on the DVD. Ah well, at least his work did get him the starring role as my ratings icon for this film.
Yeh Hai Jalwa (2002)
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(Out of 5) |
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