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Barsaat Movie
Review
Bollywood has churned out love triangles with
amazing regularity, over the decades. From
SANGAM to SILSILA to SAAJAN to KUCH KUCH HOTA
HAI to AITRAAZ, romance continues to be the pet
subject of most dream merchants. It's either two
guys loving the same girl or two girls getting
swayed by one guy.
Suneel Darshan meanders on the same path in
BARSAAT. Suneel borrows the essence from
director Andy Tennant's Hollywood flick SWEET
HOME ALABAMA [2002; Reese Witherspoon, Josh
Lucas, Patrick Dempsey], but changes the genders
here. In the Hollywood flick, it was all about
two guys and one girl. In BARSAAT, it's two
girls and one guy. No cause for worry!
But what indeed is cause for concern is that
Suneel treats the subject in an old-fashioned
manner. The screenplay is so hackneyed, so
conventional that you often wonder whether
you're watching one of those old-fashioned,
conservative sagas of the 1970s.
Subconsciously, perhaps, BARSAAT also reminds
you of Sooraj R. Barjatya movies in a way. A
parivaar with pitaji-mataji,
bhaiya-bhabhi and their kid, the next-door
daadi, the domestic help, the bunch of
friends who go for picnics and play games, the
karwa-chauth ritual and Diwali
celebrations… Everything is so saccharine-sweet
here!
Of course, Suneel peps up the goings-on with
some interesting moments, but they aren't enough
to camouflage the defects, courtesy the
screenplay which refuses to rise beyond
predictability. Even the end, which should've
been different, is so bizarre that you often
wonder whether you're actually watching a
contemporary film.
Suneel has always attempted films that are
seeped in Indian emotions, but very modern in
terms of what they intend conveying. That's
where BARSAAT falters mainly!
BARSAAT is a love story of three young people
caught in a vortex of love they have no control
over. Their love story is like the rain…
unpredictable yet welcome, torrential yet
life-giving.
Arav [Bobby Deol] is a car designer in the U.S.
who bumps into Anna [Bipasha Basu] first in a
temple, then at a party and later in a car
showroom. Anna is attracted to Arav, but he
isn't. Gradually, Arav also realizes that he
loves Anna.
Arav joins the BMW team and the Chairman of the
company [Shakti Kapoor], who also happens to be
Anna's grand-father, besides being impressed
with Arav's designs, announces Arav and Anna's
engagement, while unveiling the latest model in
the BMW series. Everything is hunky-dory till
Arav gets a call from his hometown in India.
Arav decides to return to his roots to sort out
a few things. He has a past, he had been forced
to marry Kajal [Priyanka Chopra] by his parents
[Gajendra Chauhan, Beena] before he looked at
West for career opportunities. Arav now seeks a
divorce from Kajal.
At first, Kajal avoids the issue in a playful
manner, but relents subsequently when Arav tells
her the truth -- about Anna and his impending
marriage to her. She decides to move out of his
life.
Things take a turn when Anna and her
grand-father fly to India to get Arav and Anna
married. By then, Arav has lost his heart to
Kajal…
The one aspect that's of paramount importance
while making a romantic film is that the love
story should've moments that make you smile,
make you laugh, shed a tear or two, make your
heart pine for the lovers, make you jump in glee
the moment the lovers unite… BARSAAT does all
this half-heartedly.
There's no denying that Suneel Darshan is
letdown by the screenplay. The film could've
been one feel-good entertainer had the script
been far more innovative, but the writers seem
to be stuck in the 1970s mould. A dash of
imagination would've really helped!
Nadeem-Shravan's music is pleasing to the ears,
but the placement of songs is what dilutes the
impact. Yet, the title track as well as 'Haath
Uthake Zara Gol Ghum Ja' are numbers that you'd
like to hum for the foot-tapping tunes and
rendition. Cinematography [W.B. Rao] is
eye-filling. The locales of South Africa as well
as North India are captured well by the lensman.
With BARSAAT revolving around three characters
primarily, you expect the three actors to give
their best in an effort to outdo each other. But
nothing of the sort happens here! Bobby Deol
makes an earnest effort, but is plain average.
Bipasha looks alluring and her skin-show will
attract the attention of the masses. As an
actor, she does show sparks only towards the
end. Priyanka isn't in form at all. She runs
through her role mechanically.
On the whole, BARSAAT is a weak fare, with the
outdated script as its biggest drawback. At the
box-office, BARSAAT will face rough weather!
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