Movie
Report
Picture this. It’s 2050. The world’s transformed
into a screensaver. There are airborne automobiles,
robots have substituted companionship and are not
just implanted with artificial intelligence but also
embedded with fake feelings. Humankind emerge from
holograms as customer care executives. Product brands
of today manage to survive four decades down the line
and perhaps so will the standard of scripts that refuse
to show any signs of upgrading.
Picture this. It’s 2006. Filmmaker Harry
Baweja considers making a science fiction but assumes
that the audience is too inexperienced to accept
the genre unconditionally. So he manipulates an
obsolete love story believing that the viewer would
now digest the assorted subject more willingly.
And in his flawed hypothesis he ends up with a muddled
mess which is something between a lackluster love
story and a semi-science-fiction. Add to it, neither
appeals!
Picture this. It’s 2008. Harman Baweja attempts
to make a dashing debut (literally) as he bangs
his father’s swanky car. Daddy dear is a business
tycoon who has no time for his motherless son Karan
(Harman). Now how many times have we seen such banal
bonding before? Nevertheless, real-life father Harry
Baweja has all the time to launch his son (again
literally, through flying cars) in a futuristic
film which unfortunately isn’t ahead of its
time.
Karan meets Sana (Priyanka Chopra), chases, dates
and sings with her, gets separated and reunites
and attempts every possible act to stretch the screenplay
till the interval. The director has dedicatedly
devoted the first half merely for the love story.
2050 appears only in the second half where the techno-savvy
world comprises of touch-screen gadgets and perhaps
India is again ruled by foreigners as most inhabitants
of Mumbai resemble firangs .
Sana dies in the first half and our hero is pretty
sure that she will be reborn in 2050. His scientist
uncle (Boman Irani) who is a confused combination
of an astrologer-cum-astronomer reaffirms his faith.
Uncle Frankenstein has designed a time machine which
transports them into future. Sana is Zeisha now
and suddenly the modern day sci-fi takes an ancient
Bollywood turn with the reincarnation theme. This
Karan has no Arjun but with just one song he rekindles
memories of past life in his lifeless romance with
Sana.
Meanwhile the director also inserts an archetypal
villain though he chooses to keep his face covered
for reasons unknown. This faceless bad man looks
like the first cousin of Mogambo and suspiciously
sounds like Gulshan Grover. Is Grover resorting
to barely dubbing for films or did the director
midways mistake his film to be an animation attempt?
Expectedly, the villain is in search of the time
machine which assures a climax combat with the hero.
The screenplay grilled by multiple writers is a
clear case of too many cooks spoil the broth. The
first half is long-drawn-out with a lousy love story
while scenes are specially written in the second
half only to accommodate brand endorsements. The
special effects are a new high for hindi films.
However that doesn’t affect much as the effects
are almost relegated to the background while the
romance takes preventable prominence. Moreover the
visual graphics remind of several Hollywood films
like The Fifth Element, Total Recall and The Star
Wars series. Also the villain’s vicious intentions
are clearly derived from Krrish .
Of the performances, Boman Irani hams hysterically.
Priyanka Chopra overdoes the Pooh image to irksome
effect. Archana Puran Singh repeats her Punjabi
act for the zillionth time. Harman Baweja, intentionally
or unintentionally, has a strong Hrithik Roshan
hangover in his looks, performance, body-language,
mannerisms, action, dancing and dialogue delivery
but surprisingly it works to his advantage. In the
pre-climax party scene he also derives a lot in
his act from Shah Rukh Khan. But a confident charm
works to his merit.
Through the film, Harman keeps repeating a line
‘I don’t need luck, I have love’.
Perhaps an overdose of love will surely make him
seek some luck, now.
