Cast & Credits Producer: Yash Chopra Director: Sanjay Gadhvi Music: Jeet-Pritam Cast: Uday Chopra, Jimmy Shergill, Sanjana and Bipasha Basu

Yash Raj banner, one of the biggest names in show business, is in the process of getting even bigger. Their long-term plans include embracing corporatisation, bringing out a public issue and opening a grand studio on the lines of Hollywood. The entertainment houses of the West maintain a subtle brand identity in all their products. Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, despite having a different technical team from the regular Yash Raj crew, has likewise succeeded in retaining the Yash Raj magic and is a small but significant step towards the realisation of the banner’s big dream.

In a simple, no-nonsense manner, it tells the story of Sanjay Malhotra (Uday Chopra), the guy-next-door, who thinks himself as the greatest gift to womankind. He shares his Mumbai apartment with the vivacious Ria, clearly an indication of the changing urban ethos, as despite living together, they are shown to be just good friends.

Ria thinks of him as an hopeless flirt but she is the first to notice that he is unhappy over the fact that his childhood friend Anjali Sharma (Sanjana) is getting married to someone else. At first, he is loath to admit his true feelings, but later resolves to return to home Dehradun to win back the girl he loves.

His hopes of wrecking the marriage take a beating when he mets the would-be groom Rohit Khanna, an NRI doctor settled in US. Rohit is really maryada-purshottam Ram personified and soon wins the heart of the Sharma household.

Encouraged by Ria, who too later lands-up in Dehradun to help him, Sunil continues to fire one volley after another against Rohit, which hilariously misfire.

Rohit too guesses his motives after a while, but instead of exposing him, gamely proposes to let fate decide the outcome...

Uday Chopra has put up a great act and shows quite a flair for comedy. Here is an actor who would do wonders in the hands of good directors. Sanjana too is a natural in front of the camera and Jimmy, despite having a sugary-sweet role, manages to rise above the script and makes his presence felt. Bipasha, as ever, is a delight to watch.

Director Sanjay Gadhvi pays homage to Rajshri films, not to mention his mentors. Shorn of unneccessary melodrama, the film keeps you laughing with the situational gags and manages to touch your heart in the end. Cinematographer Sunil Mehta’s brilliant camerawork leaves you asking for more while music-directors Jeet-Pritam too have provided a foot-tapping score, especially ‘Sharara sharara...’, shot on a sparkling Shamita Shetty.

All-in-all Mere Yaar ki Shaadi Hai is total paisa vasool.

Devesh Sharma

THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH
Poignant, gripping tale

Cast & Credits Cast: Ajay Devgan, Ra Babbar, Farida Jalal, Akhilendra Mishra, Sushant Singh, D Santosh, Amrita Rao Director: Rajkumar Santoshi Writer: Anjum Rajabali Producer: Kumar S Taurani & Ramesh S Taurani

It was Rajkumar Santoshi’s mission to give Shaheed Bhagat Singh his due recognition for his martyrdom and do so with a biopic. That he has succeeded cannot be doubted. Never mind if more versions are dedicated to the martyr. The one in question is the one Santoshi has helmed, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, produced by the Taurani Brothers for their banner Tips Films. Within the running time of under three hours, Rajkumar Santoshi and his writer Anjum Rajabali have compacted the events of the 23-year-old martyr who hitherto was unrecognised for the part he played in India’s independence struggle.

The opening scene is poignant, as in the death of night, armed law enforcers are stealthily making their way with three shrouds to a riverbank. Hacking away at the shrouds, till they are spotted by a group of men who have followed them. From then on it is a chronological unfolding of Bhagat Singh’s life, right from age 12, when he is pained by the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre. Rajkumar Santoshi shows a young Bhagat Singh imagining the anguish as though he was a mute spectator.
The grown-up Bhagat (Ajay Devgan) is an introspective youth, disturbed by the yoke of British oppression, a keen student and activist. His first encounter with Sukhdev (Sushant Singh) in college is replete with tension as their respective rebellious streaks precede each when Bhagat prefers to rehearse a play, rather than attend a political rally. Only when Sukhdev sees him enact a political satire does he embrace Bhagat as a friend and comrade for life. Throughout the film Santoshi manages to project this friendship, balancing Bhagat’s fiery and reflective patriotism with Sukhdev’s easygoing activism.

This lays the ground of his meeting with Chandrashekhar Azad (Akhilendra Mishra) too, yet another unsung hero in India’s struggle for independence. The seemingly frivolous first encounter with the impish Rajguru (D. Santosh), takes care of the lighter moments in the film. Another light moment is when dairy farming poses a greater challenge to the young rebels than asking the British to quit India as they help Bhagat Singh at his dairy.

Perhaps the most gripping scenes are those in jail as the prisoners are lashed, tortured and subjected to the worst punishment, till they are condemned to death row. Impressive is the equanimity with which Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru walk to the gallows, Bhagat asking the guards to wait till he finishes reading his book. Even the hunt for Chandrashekhar Azad and his final act of taking his own life is a well-crafted set of scenes, which are intercut with those of his compatriots in prison.

It would be difficult to pick out the really outstanding scenes as Rajkumar Santoshi and scriptwriter Anjum Rajabali have woven a poignant narrative which doesn’t lose itself in the throes of Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary spirit and ideals. At some places the action is taut with enacted tension but at times the pace does flag, like during the romantic interlude between Bhagat Singh and his betrothed (Amrita Rao), or when political ideals are propounded. Overall, Rajkumar Santoshi has remained true to the subject and history. Not taking any undue liberty to dress up the film.
Nitin Desai’s set design, AR Rahman’s music and K V Anand’s cinematography enhance The Legend of Bhagat Singh. Giving the film its soul are the performances. Ajay Devgan has fully immersed himself into the persona of Bhagat Singh, proving his mettle as an actor of intensity and passion. Akhilendra Mishra’s Chandrashekhar Azad is a study in characterisation. Sushant Singh and S Santoshi raise their performances to match the fervour of Bhagat Singh and Azad. The rest of the supporting cast headed by Raj Babbar and Farida Jalal have also proved themselves commendable. As the other incidental characters in the film are historic personages, care has been taken to project them accurately.

—Piroj Wadia
pirojwadia@hotmail.com