FILM REVIEW: Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon (2004)

Director: Anil Sharma
Producer: Anil Sharma
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Bobby Deol, Kapil Sharma, Naghma, Sandali Sinha Divya Khosla, Ashutosh Rana, Govind Namdeo and Danny Dengzongpa

Radio Sargam Rating: 6/10

Background
Anil Sharma has been in Bollywood for long. He started off with a film Shradhanjali starring Vivek Oberoi's father Suresh Oberoi and Raakhee. With films like Hukumat starring Dharmendra, Gadar and The Hero starring Sunny Deol and now Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyon starring Bobby Deol, Sharma highlights the box office power of the Deol family.

Synopsis
Major General Amarjeet Singh (Amitabh Bachchan) is a retired officer of the Indian Army. His son Vikramjit Singh (Bobby Deol) who was in the Indian Navy dies during the 1971 war for Bangladesh, when his ship capsizes during the batteafter being hit by torpedoes. Amarjeet Singh wants Kunal - the son of Vikramjit and his wife (Naghma) to be in the armed forces. Kunal grows up to be Bobby Deol again. But Kunal does not like being where he is. He would rather shed the uniform and go to the United States of America and indulge in business.

But Kunal is in the army at the moment and serving the country. His friend in the army Trilok Singh (Kapil Sharma) and a doctor (Sandali Sinha) try and advice him, but of not much avail. One day, while participating at the desert festival at Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, he sees a beautiful girl Shweta (Divya Khosla) whom he falls in love with. But he then realises that Shweta is married to another army officer Rajiv Singh (Akshay Kumar) who is missing in action. He then proposes to Shweta, who accepts his proposal because Rajiv had asked her to remarry if he didn't return from the border while fighting Pakistan.
Rajiv had been captured and made a POW in Pakistan but somehow escapes after two years from the clutches of Ashfaqullah Khan (Danny Dengzongpa) with the help of a Pakistani soldier.

Rajiv returns to his wife just after Shweta has acccepted Kunal's proposal. When Kunal returns, he is a different person - for a few reasons. Trilok had been killed while fighting the enemy. Kunal and his company capture the Tigri Post which overlooks the route to the Amarnath Yatra (an important pilgrimage for the Hindus in the state of Jammu and Kashmir) which the militants are slated to attack, and Kunal gets a bravery award which is rightfully Trilok's. He also sees that Shweta now belongs to Rajiv.

Kunal now has a new mission - to prove himself. But his grandfather Amarjeet Singh, is not happy with his demeanour and wants him to quit the army and even shoots him in his knee to prevent him from further taking part in the security process of the Amarnath Yatra.

But a few elements in Pakistan and Kashmir do not want peace though Amarjeet is trying his best. Will Rajiv and Amarjeet be able to save the pilgrims in the yatra? Will Kunal be able to redeem himself. Will he find his true love? If we told you that this is a pure commerical fim, will you be able to guess the end?

Critique
The film tackles many issues... the story of Gudiya (the girl who remarries after her husband is declared misisng in war and later an offender) is also experimented through Shweta's character. The current peace talks between India and Pakistan, the nagging doubt that a foreign country could be funding certain peple in India and Pakistan to keep the war going, the fact that US is behaving like a bully, the idea that both Indians and Pakistani civilians and soldiers alike want peace... are all put in the film at the right places.

The direction from Anil Sharma speaks aloud about of intelligently placed jingoism, which at times is carefully clothed in the uniforms of the Indian sodiers. There are digs taken against the Pakistani army, but none against the Indian Army.

The film obviously does not attack Pakistan like Gadar and later like The Hero, but also offers solutions - an idea that will go down well with the common man. Though the length of the film may not appeal much to the gentry and the city audiences, people in rural and small towns of India will find the film worthwhile as it does not talk of incredible special effects. The film has more emotion than style, something that Sharma forgot after Gadar and didn't use it in The Hero.

Performances are A-Grade. Amitabh Bachchan is simply outsanding. Since he has donned a beard to play a Sikh, his eyes do all the talking and a wonderful job those orbs do as they strike starfire with every dialogue. Bobby Deol as the father and son is very good. The metamorphosis of his character has also been done well. Akshay Kumar gets the girl this time, and not like Khakee and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi where he loses the girl and Aitraaz where he is rendered helpless before the vamp. Sandali Sinha has matured and it shows in her performances. Most of the other stars are competitive. The people who do not manage to sustain the film with their performances are Divya Khosla and Kapil Sharma.

The music of the film is worth a mention. Anu Malik seems to have worked hard on some tracks in the film, but these songs will again suit the front benchers more.

There are a few scenes which are worth a mention for having been shot well and imaginatively - the scenes of the Indian Navy fighting... the scenic Amarnath Yatra etc among others.

However two popular news anchors from Zee TV - Richa and NDTV - Pankaj Pachauri are reduced to less than extras in their scenes duirng the Amarnath Yatra and their roles cut and voices dubbed - almost as much as what Naghma's role has been chopped off. Even Aarti Chhabira is wasted in one scene as Trilok's wife. One wonders why filmmakers shoot so much without knowing where the screenplay is leading them.

However the film is slated to thrill the front benchers at least for making certain strong statements and sticking to a lot of what one perceives to be the truth today - friendship between India and Pakistan. A subject that we saw earlier this year - in Main Hoon Na.

Reviewed by: Tony

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