AsiaMAX Entertainment Magazine presents

Once upon a time there was a girl...very pretty, very poor and very single.  Once upon a time there was a boy...very spoilt, very rich and not very single.  Once upon a time he meets her in a club, and they walk away together...do you want to guess the rest? 

They then meet up again and she walks away...they meet up again and once again she walks away and before you realise time flies and you’re into the last 20 minutes and a dramatic scene is created, vow!!!  Salman’s first film for the year, (directed by Andaleb M. Sultanpuri) and one after a long time, but sadly these so called repetitive story lines are just a thing of the past. 

Salman, once again, portrays a rich play-boy image, who falls for Urmilla, the illegitimate child, and is from a poor family background. Thus we are taken through the trials and tribulations of the two and their meetings and separations.  Once again we are given the chance to see London’s exclusive locations, Zenith Discotheque and McDonalds !!! 

The total lack in direction of this film is at times salvaged by the light humour and as for Anu Malik’s music, which can make you cringe with frustration at times, does however grow on you eventually, especially "SABKI BARATEIN" in which Urmilla’s dance routine is quite breathtaking. 

However not even the presence of Shammi Kapoor, Salman’s granddad could make any sort of impact on the story.  A couple of Salman’s dance routines were too quite outstanding, in the streets of London, but could it not have been filmed anywhere else? 
Please, Mr. Director, "tum bhi samjha karo ke," foreign locations are not always necessary! 

So lets talk about the film Aarzoo...toh!  It stars Madhuri, Saif and Akshaye...toh!  An eagerly awaited film bound to be a success for all 3 actors...jootha! (quite a catchy tune?) Pooja (Madhuri) is caught up in a love triangle!  She loves Vijay, played by Akshaye, but Pooja’s childhood friend, Amar (Saif) is back in her life and is now obsessed with her, and also he is her father’s choice for marriage. 

But...Pooja is not happy with her fathers announcement of her engagement to Amar and so they both convince her father to cancel this marriage, as Pooja feels too strongly for Vijay!  Are you still with me? The intermission arrives with a bang, literally! And the suspense tries to take over and we the audience start looking at our watches! 

I guess you can’t really go wrong with the songs, (of which we are robbed of one in the film from the original soundtrack!) and really it is the only positive point arising from this film, especially "saajan saajan teri dhulan", in which Madhuri looks at her best once again! yet on the whole they failed to choreograph any decent dance routines for the rest of the quite beautiful melodies. 

And if director, Laurence de Souza believes he can trick us Bollyfans by using a "Tesco" car park as the outside of a restaurant in India, or was it Scotland, in fact it could have been England...then I think its back to the drawing board for him! An attempt at a romantic thriller gone horribly wrong and not a great start to the year for any one of the trio! 

Akshay Khanna, hero of this love story, is definitely maturing with every film and it is only his acting that takes you through till the end of this film. As for the new face of Jyotika, a rather simple heroine, does not really have a great deal to say but no doubt, the show is stolen by the village fisherman - the old timer Amrish Puri and his lively performance in "Chal kevar kevar ", one of the hit tunes from the film. 

A very simple story, which really fails to pack any punches, of a girl and boy who fall in love but are kept apart due to a strict family background. The sympathetic Amrish then comes to their rescue. Now should he help to join them in their matrimonial vows against their parents or should he find an alternative solution to keep everyone happy? If anything this small budget film sends out a good message to the young generations who are planning to run away with their loved ones, yet the story line is on the weaker side with maybe one too many climaxes in it. 

No doubt the only area where this film makes an impact is the unique music, as A.R. Rehman, once again comes up with some terrific melodies, and one wonders the extent of his talents. "DOLI SAJAKE RAKHNA" was definitely a title with great depth and perhaps with some sentimental meaning, sadly the director "ne apni story nahi sajake Rakhi" to match the title. 

With this being the 50th year for the RK banner, one was expecting this film to be a superb hit.  Set among the sky high skyscrapers of New York, the film has a couple of colourful dance routines of Bhangra and Garba. 

Akshaye Khanna who seems to going nowhere in life in India, follows his dad’s footsteps and sets off for USA and so history repeats itself 22 years later.  Lack of promised support in the USA, made him turn to some strangers from back home and finds warmth and comfort among them, when he meets the stunning Aishwariya Rai also from India, and become fond of each other. 

In the process of tough living, Akshaye is attracted to the high class society, thus deciding to marry a US citizen to get his green card, but coincidental events open his eyes and brings him back down to earth - to his own self.  A few more incidental events make everyone appreciate family values and so uniting the whole family back in India. 

The appearance of the legendary Rajesh Khanna (plus his hair piece!) was a slight let down in portraying the father figure.  The partnership of Sameer and Nadeem - Shravan came up with some catchy songs.  The story had some sentimental moments, the message was clear - that the grass is not always green on the other side, but certainly it wasn’t a film I would "laut chale" to see it again. 

What a brilliant start to 1999 - a love story that revolves around the concept of the "MANGAL SUTRA" - (the symbol of a Hindu wife), that grips the audience right from the beginning with its powerful dialogues and even more by the powerful role of our charismatic Kajol, who seems to be unstoppable at the moment!  Here she portrays a role of Megha - "Sita" of modern times and becomes the first woman to sign a pre-marital contract with Vijay (Anil Kapoor) which would be either renewed or terminated after the initial one year trial period! 

The story then takes an unexpected turn, as usual.  Kajol teaming up with Anupam Kher, her father-in-law, together deliver some superb dialogues, but then a couple of undesirable climaxes, and the plot tends to slightly lose its beauty, and perhaps is extended unnecessarily, just like its title! 

Apart from the title song the rest were nothing special, especially "DHINGTARA DHINGTARA" the less said the better.  Though it was certainly a surprise to see guest appearances by Anuradha Paudwal, Kumar Sanu and Anu Malik at a venue coincidentally named after my surname: "The Kamani Auditorium". 

On the whole, Satish Kaushik, directs the film well and manages to weave a fabric of intrigue and imagination thus very nearly creating the perfect Bollywood film.  Now that "her own love story...after marriage" is about to take off (with Ajay Devgan) let us wish Kajol the best and hope she doesn’t stay away from our screen for too long !!! 

From the makers of "Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Hai", this one promises to be an action packed film with some convincing fighting sequences. The title is slightly misleading, however it's finally explained towards the end of the film.

With a gripping start, the story moves 20 years into the future, where Raj who is now grown up to be the dashing Bobby Deol, flies off to Australia to clear his father’s name where by pure coincidence, bumps into Preity, (in her first major role since "Dil Se") 'Love at first sight...A few songs...and an opportunity to view the beautiful scenery of Australia and New Zealand. However, Preity’s father turns out to be one of the gangsters on Raj’s hit list! Now it gets slightly confusing here but sorts itself out eventually. As for the music, which saw Anu Malik teaming up with Sameer, did not really make a huge impact on the film, and just as well, as it may have weakened the story line.

A lot of dishoom-dishoom which might not appeal to my Chachu, though he would probably get emotional with the patriotic dialogues and the brief yet powerful performance from the legendary Rakhi, who portrays a true 'Hindu wife'.

If you haven't heard anyone talking about this film yet then you must be living on another planet! It has been the talk of the town. Two of Bollywood’s greatest stars: charismatic Kajol and superstar Sharukh Khan, pair up again for this thrilling romantic film, together with the vivacious new face of Rani Mukherjee, the versatile Anupam kher and even a cameo role by... who? Now lets not give everything away!

Director Karan Johar, who also had a hand in "DDLJ", once again has managed to turn a simple film into a superb blockbuster! A story which involves three friends emotionally caught up in the maze of love. It's a love triangle story but with a twist in the plot. The film itself is a unique experience. A story which is true to life which caters for all ages. Sameer's exciting lyrics and Jatin-Lalit's music created sensational sweet melodies which haunt you for ever.

There's no question that this is definitely the film of the year and if you liked DDLJ then you will absolutely adore this one. You’ll know you’ve seen this film when Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to you!