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A Tear-stained Tale

Sharmila Taliculam

One man: a rebel without a cause. Another, a practitioner of non-violence. And a woman caught between the two. That's Dharmesh Darshan's Dhadkan for you.

Anjali (Shilpa Shetty) loves Dev (Sunil Shetty), but is completely nonplussed by his obsession with her. Add to it his extreme touchiness about his illegitimacy. Dev's attitude fails to score any points with Anjali's father, who wastes no time in emotionally blackmailing her into marrying Ram (Akshay Kumar). Dev cannot stomach this new development. He decides to ruin Anjali's married life.

Sharmila Tagore as Sunil Shetty's mother - jilted by her lover who leaves her pregnant and, what's more, estranged from her son - has a wasted role. You'd miss her if you so much as blinked.

You are unsure why Dev is so tormented throughout the film. You also wonder how Sharmila Tagore effortlessly seems to read her son's mind without him ever breathing a word to her.

If Dharmesh Darshan wanted to convey that love hurts, he certainly succeeds. So you have Shilpa Shetty sacrificing her love for her family. And Akshay Kumar, true to his name, loving his step family even though they hate him.

Dharmesh Darshan seems to have been in an awful rush to get to the second half of the film. With just a song that introduces the two lovers, he zooms through at a breakneck pace. As a result, you have disjointed scenes with absolutely no links between one and the other.

Some film-makers just can't get over their first hits. Dharmesh Darshan is no exception. Which counts for why Shilpa Shetty wears the same tragic expression on her face that Karisma did in Raja Hindustani. In fact, the two films are remarkably similar in mood. There's just no relief from the gloom and doom pervading both films.

All three leading stars, often accused of being non-actors, have claimed that this film will be a big turning point in their careers. Akshay Kumar proves he is a director's actor - that he has worked hard on his role is apparent. After Sanghursh and Hera Pheri, where he surprised people with his spontaneity, this film will definitely look good on his careergraph.

Shilpa Shetty, though she has a crucial role, hasn't really lived up to it. She is the only one in the film who hasn't really made any mark despite hers being the central role. Sadly, she has hammed her way through.

Sunil Shetty is definitely the surprise element of the film. As a man with an attitude, he has given a splendid performance. He has been experimenting with roles for some time now - the first being Gulzar's Hu Tu Tu.

Shetty has grown from an action hero to a good actor. And this film vindicates that. It also proves that he is very comfortable with a two-hero film, as long as his is an important role. Like his role in J P Dutta's Refugee. And though his character has a negative side, he is quite at ease with it.

Mahima Chaudhury as Dev's friend, Sheetal, hasn't much of a role to talk about. She is desperately in love with him, though he is blind to her feelings.

Nadeem and Shravan have come together again after a long time to score soulful music. Note Dil ne yeh kaha hai dil se and Tum dil ki dhadkan mein.

The film would have been entertaining if Darshan weren't in such a hurry, and sans his Raja Hindustani hangover. The only difference is that Darshan has broken Aamir's role in two parts here. One is the conservative and self-respecting husband and the other is the rebel.

Watch the film if tearjerkers are your scene.

CREDITS:

Director: Dharmesh Darshan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Shilpa Shetty, Mahima Chaudhury, Sharmila Tagore
Producer: Venus Records & Tapes
Cinematographer: W B Rao
Music: Nadeem-Shravan
Lyrics: Sameer
Choreographer: Raju Khan, Chinni Prakash, Rekha Prakash and Saroj Khan