'Tumko Na Bhool Paayenge'

The Plot

Vir (Salman Khan) is all set to marry Muskaan (Diya Mirza) when he begins to hallucinate about things he can't recall having done. Is it just amnesia or are these memories of a past life? To find out, he leaves his Rajasthani hamlet and goes to Mumbai, where answers could lie with Mehak (Sushmita Sen), Inder (Inder Kumar) and a cop (Mukesh Rishi).

The Review

The opening credits clue you in about how to approach this film. In a series of slick, tinted, X-ray-like shots, you see a rotating gun, a shooting target, a building that looms ominously.. and just as you're warming up to the thriller-like buildup, a shirtless Salman makes an entry, effectively dissipating the atmosphere so carefully created.

The way I interpreted this was that director Pankuj Parashar is winking at the audience and telling us not to take things too seriously. That things may get pretty hairy, but never to an extent that something fairly ridiculous (like Salman's usual habit of doffing his clothes) will seem completely out of place.

If you see things my way, you're in for a pretty fun ride in a universe where logic and reality are unknown commodities. And if you are going to get all hot and bothered about how the otherwise-diabolically-clever villain is stupid enough to leave an incriminating videotape where anyone can find it, or why kindhearted Muslim elders in our cinema are inevitably named Rahim Chacha, this is clearly not the film for you.

The first hour or so of TNBP is devoted to some very cute romancing between Vir and Muskaan, even if they can't quite settle on an accent. (Sometimes they say 'hamaar' and 'tohaar'; suddenly it's 'hamaare' and 'tumhaare'.)

Diya Mirza more than does what she's asked to do, which is to look very pretty and dance well. Salman too is in good form in these earlier, really goofy segments. Like an endearingly silly sequence at a fair where Vir and Muskaan pose with cutouts of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai. Or when Muskaan reveals what she wants to name their children: 'agar ladka ho to Baba, agar ladki ho to Baby'. And Johny Lever, playing a sadhu, has one truly manic moment when he's asked what the problem with Vir is and he launches into the story of 'Karan Arjun', replete with singing 'yeh bandhan to pyaar ka bandhan hai'.

Of course, if the elders won't cause problems in marrying off a couple by the interval, then you know something else has to. That's the cue for the flashbacks and a rather violent second act featuring a game Sushmita Sen, letting her hair down after her serious work in 'Filhaal'.

This is exactly the sort of film where having someone like Parashar at the helm helps. He may never have made anything original, from his 'Columbo'-inspired 'Karamchand' to the 'Seeta aur Geeta' takeoff 'Chaalbaaz' to the 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves' makeover 'Rajkumar' to this loose retread of 'The Bourne Identity' and 'The Long Kiss Goodnight', but he's always been an excellent stylist.

It's not just the barrage of technical tomfoolery he lets loose, like sepia-toned scenes and 'The Matrix'-style bullets spraying all across the screen. There are some good stunts, like Vir's scaling down a skyscraper and his running on a tiled roof as gunmen below keep blowing off the tiles, and tons of well-executed special effects.

Even the numerous song-and-dance breaks are artfully, colourfully realised with Farah Khan's sprightly choreography. Sajid-Wajid and Daboo Malik contribute some peppy tunes, including a rework of that eighties' hit 'Every Time You Go Away'. And Thomas Xaavier photographs some gorgeous locations.

Throw in some unexpected double-crosses and other unintended distractions, like a really fake beard that Alok Nath (as the aforementioned Rahim Chacha) sports, and you can have yourself some really nonsensical fun. And just in case you're looking for something with a little more heft, Salman wears both an 'Om' and an Islamic 'taaveez' around his neck while fighting the bad guy during the climax. (You know who'll win that fight, don't you!)

The Rating

TNBP has a ditsy first half followed by some intense thrills in the second. The story may be as silly as it gets, but the packaging is slick and time zips by so merrily that you wish other mainstream directors would take a leaf or two from Parashar's book on mindless entertainment.

Baradwaj Rangan

If you have any comments on this review, post a message on our message boards or write to: editor@sitagita.com

Post Comment

Name : Email : Password : Comments :