LAKSHYA (2004)

Starring: Amitabh Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan, Preity Zinta, Om Puri, Sharad Kapoor
Directed by: Farhan Akhtar
Produced by: Ritesh Sidhwani
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

RS RATING: 8/10

The History:
The film is a tale adapted from the war or rather the scuffle between India and Pakistan along with the insurgents in the strife torn Indian state of Kashmir. The film by Farhan Akhtar is a huge deviation from the film he made earlier - Dil Chahta Hai. There are people who did not like the ending in Dil Chahta Hai and the way the climax was unfurled and rolled back... similarly there are a few glitches in the film… that glare at times.

The Story:
Karan Shergill (Hrithik Roshan) is a duffer. He is a loser in life and does nothing…. Cars, music systems and DVD form a part of his life… so much so that everyone loses interest in him, including his girlfriend Romila Dutta (Preity Zinta) who is in fact the most stable factor in his life.

Karan’s businessman father (Boman Irani) wants him to do something in life rather than just waste his time… And when everyone starts telling him that he is worthless… Karan decides that it is time to act… when his friend decides to apply for recruitment in the army… Karan pitches in too… later his friend withdraws and even Karan wants to follow suit… but coaxed by Romila… doesn’t.

A few days later he heads for Dehradun with the army for training… But then the life isn’t suited for him. He hates it all and decides to run away… and comes back home… Back home he is scorned by all…

Romila gives him a piece of her mind… She tells him that he had his aim before him in life and he left it all and returned… What good was he to do something like that? She tells him that she has no option but to leave him…

Karan decides to return to the army… and makes it big. He works hard… gets a focus in life and realises what dreams are all about… Under the guidance of Colonel Sunil Damle (Amitabh Bachchan), Hrithik blossoms…

In the meantime Romila is working for a news channel as a reporter covering the war– a character loosely inspired by NDTV’s Barkha Dutt… Romila’s reportage is appreciated by many and then she bumps into Karan… But Romila is already engaged to marry someone else… so Karan avoids her… It is only later when he has to go and mount the final assault on Tiger Hill that he realises that her engagement had broken off, as her fiancée didn’t want her to work…

He proposes to her again and tells her that he may never come back alive… He also calls his father and tells him that this may be the last time that he is speaking to him. The father is moved. He says that he has been watching the reportage on television and is extremely happy with his son and wishes him all the luck.

The end is for all to guess…

Analysis
It is a Hrithik Roshan film all the way. The characters suit him to the T. Characters as in the role of the young aimless boy who gets his Lakshya as well as the role of the soldier who has the nation's name on his lips. The role has been written for him like the way Javed Akhtar used to write roles for Amitabh earlier. Hrithik excels in all the scenes... Hrithik's character unfolds very well and he handles both characters with ease like he did in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.

Amitabh Bachchan as Colonel Sunil Damle is quite good. Om Puri as his senior Subhedar Major Pritam Singh is equally competent. Sharad Kapoor lends admirable support along with Raj Zutshi.

Bachchan shows the class that great actors are made of. In his small role he impresses, especially in the scene where he convinces Om Puri that he needs to send his men to Tiger Hill and he would be successful this time around.

Hrithik Roshan as the dud and duffer in the first half of the film is quite cool. This role is much different from the other roles that he has essayed before. The lad’s penchant of taking on offbeat roles is appreciable. His performance in the second half of the film is commendable. Though there are people who would differ on the final outcome – like in Dil Chahta Hai...

Preity Zinta never gets to marry the guy she is engaged to… Like in most Bollywood films now… where marriage forms the climax of the film… easily showing that the institution of marriage is the final goal in the life of an Indian. Preity who played a journalist and a love to Hrithik Roshan in Mission Kashmir where he played Altaf the terrorist is much better in this film than doing the insipid role that she essayed the last time around. This role of Romila has more meat.

Farhan is quite competitive as the director. He has handled all the scenes between Hrithik and Preity and Hrithik and Amitabh very well. His sense of narrative is also quite different from the others and helps propel Hrithik's character. There may be a few who might not agree with Hrithik's characterization though. The kind of person Hrithik has been portrayed is not someone whom you can find that easily. But celluloid stories in Bollywood don't have much to do with reality anyway.

Javed Akhtar who wrote Main Azaad Hoon years ago... shows his class as a writer after 14 years. Akhtar who has written tailor made roles for Bachchan in Sholay, Deewar and Zanjeer… has a great way to play with words too.

The music by Shankar Ehsaan and Loy is soothing at times and suits the film. It is nothing extraordinary though like Dil Chahta Hai. But a couple of songs are worth a listen.

The camerawork by cinematographer Christopher Popp is brilliant. Sometimes placed at an altitude of 17,800 feet, the camera follows people as they climb the mountain. Certain scenes are quite dangerously executed and shot too. Hrithik’s stunts too are mind-blowing like those of other army men and other actors. The film has the thrill of 70 mm that was missing in many army based films in recent times including LOC which lost itself in a sad narrative.

Arjun Bhasin’s clothes are much better researched than other films. Hrithik’s fatigues look better than other army clothing seen in recent times.

Conclusion:
The film is certainly worth watching once for Hrithik Roshan. You walk out with his name on your mind and Main Aisa Kyun Hoon on your lips. Probably, you might just do with a stint in the army in case you are directionless…

Reviewed by: Qamar Zaman

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Movie Stills: Lakshya
Dekstop Wallpapers: Lakshya
Dekstop Wallpapers: Amitabh Bachchan
Dekstop Wallpapers: Hrithik Roshan
Dekstop Wallpapers: Preity Zinta
Discussion: Lakshya Movie