drama
Starring Karisma Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan, Jaya Bachan, Neha, Bikram Saluja, Manoj Bajpai
Directed by Khalid
Mohammed
Music by Anu
Malik
Guest Composers: A.R. RAhman, Ranjit Barot
Khalid Mohammed’s debut movie was always expected to get the bumper initial it got, thanks to Hrithik Roshan’s stupendous overnight success and of course the well-executed publicity campaign which saw expectations sky-rocketing in the industry as the release date approached nearer.
But all the fine talents and
oppurtunities still can never guarantee a good
movie….maybe a successful one but never a good
movie.
Khalid Mohammed, the editor of India’s premier film
magazine, Filmfare, is also the topmost film critic in
the country. And in his long stint as one, he has managed
to slaughter numerous movies, and also stopped by to
praise a few. So far so good. But now, the man himself
tries his hand at directing, and the fact that his movie
was going to face a simillar storm from the critics was
inevitable. Therefore if the movie was good, one could
have always be assured that all the bad reviews are just
bias. However, that is not the case here.
Fiza is a powerful story told
by Khalid Mohammed on his directorial debut in a rather
disappointing syle.
Not everyday do you get to watch the central character of the movie being played by a female. This is however, a cut above the rest.
It is essentially the story of
this young girl, Fiza ( Karishma Kapoor) who goes out in
the search for her lost brother. Fiza lives with
her mother ( Jaya Bachan) who firmly believes in the
return of her son Amaan, who they lost during the 92
mumbai-riots. However, Fiza cannot live with this hope.
So she decides to take matters into her own hands, that
is by starting a search for Amaan all by herself.
Thus you have Fiza out in
the streets in search of her brother, who she
doesn’t even know whether is alive or not to begin
with. However that is her mission and she shall strive
towards finding him. Even the strange characters she come
across can’t put her off track.
Certainly, this is the
projected storyline as far as the promos goes. But the
story simply doesn’t end there. This is because Fiza
does find Amaan and manages to bring him back home.
However, we are only midway.
The second half shows how Amaan
finds it difficult to cope up with his old surroundings.
For Amaan is no longer the sweet boy next door anymore.
Actually he spent his exile years in a militant group,
and suddenly finds himself missing the guns and bullets.
A person of Khalid's repute
always have the potential to deliver the goods. He has
also previously scripted for movies, including Shymam
Benegal's Sardari Begum. Moreover being associated with
the industry for so long, he does show his experience.
However all those experience is simply limited to just
that of a mere onlooker. Because with the pressures of
making a mainstream flick, Khalid too seemed to
have fallen into the temptation of making his project as
commercially viable as possible. If this was
Khalid’s attempt to bridge the gap between
commercial and the so-called ‘arty’ ones, he
has certainly failed here.
The fabulous performance of Hrithik Roshan is going to make things moving.
He simply shows why he is the craze of the nation. Well, not because he has girls falling for him all around. But for the mere fact that he is able to handle such a complicated role with such honesty and dedication right in the very second movie of his career. His effort certainly shows on screen. He stands a strong chance of bagging the best actor award for his performance in this tale.
Karisma playing the lead role of Fiza too comes up with a commendable performance too.
Be it her aggressiveness or her
helplessness, she doesn’t disappoint you, atleast
not in this one. Jaya Bachan is in her usual glory, but
just watching her back on screen is magic enough.
Actors like Neha and
Bikram Saluja have been wasted with roles with nothing
substantial to offer. . Manoj Bajpai, however walks off
in style in his role. Well, even if the movie fail to bag
some of the major categories, it still is the forerunner
for some awards when it comes to the acting department,
especially Karisma.
This was a movie that could have ended up being the biggest blockbuster, but only if treated right. However that is not the case here. It seems that the attempt to make it a big hit has eventually misfired because these very commercial element have affected the narration and screenplay badly.
Initially, Khalid has planned on a special appearance by Amitabh Bhachan and a song featuring Shahrukh. Though eventually he chopped them off to make the movie shorter and crisper, it still hasn’t helped him much. For the second half of the plot, that is after Amaan returns home, has nothing captivating or engrossing.
One of the biggest disappointment is the manner in which Fiza goes about her search. To begin with, she gets successful through the media in a rather unbelievable fashion, and to top it all Fiza stumbles upon clues so easily. There is no struggle in this search for her brother.
Certain
scenes and scenarios have just been shoved into the
script, and these cannot be easily justified in the
context of the storyline.
Santosh Sivan, has once again done a good job, but by his own standards, falls far behind to the great work shown in his movies like Kaalapaani, Dil Se, Terrorist etc. Anu Malik on the other hand is one who has done a surprisingly commendable job. Ranjit Barot's background score too delivers the goods. Even the script is propelled by good dialogues from Javed Siddique.
However, despite the flaws and disappointments, the movie still is worth a watch, because it is far superior to most of the other movies out this year.
Remember Dil Se, 1942 A
Love Story? Well, Fiza too
would end up heading the same road. Great bumper
initials, great technicians, high-profile director,
superhit music yet a potential script ruined with a weak
narration, flavored with a mood that promises no hope,
only gloom.