Lakshya – Bang on target

1st things 1st:-

1. Lakshya is the best Indian war movie/ movie with army as backdrop ever
   made.
2. Farhan Akhtar is the currently the best film maker in Bollywood.
3. War movie veterans like J.P Dutta may please take coaching classes from
   Farhan.
4. Shankar Ehsaan Loy is the only hope after A.R. Rahman.
5. Special effects have finally arrived in Bollywood.

What was I expecting while going for this movie? After the phenomenon called DCH, I was surely expecting a masterpiece, and that too on the same lines, for eg: quality comedy, cool dialogues and loads of urban feel good factor. But I was surprised, thought pleasantly only after the movie ended, after witnessing an entirely different movie with an entirely different theme and mood as compared to DCH. Though the warm moments and feel good
(great!) factor was always there.

It was brave on the director’s side to go for a different theme this time around, and that too when the audience is expecting something similar to the previous one, and that too on a gigantic budget like 30 crores.

• The story of a confused guy finally dicovering himself and his goals &
  his emotional scene on the phone with his father reminds you of Aamir
  khan’s character in DCH.
• The modern gal not taking the nonsense from her fiance and dumping him reminds you of zinta’s character in DCH
• and the good natured rich kids in designer clothes and funky hairdos living in palatial homes are the only common elements with Farhan’s previous venture.

Kashmir never looked so beautiul through the lens. The evocative background score(in the lines of Titanic and lord of the rings) lingers in ur mind even after the movie is over. The combat scenes are shot with elan, noteworthy are the grainy scenes during war that lends an authentic look (was that purposely done???). The whole package looks very slick, chic and very international.

Performances are top class- Hrithik has proved that he is one of the most versatile actors in the country. This range of emotions from plain confused to the focussed and responsible are done with panache. Priety is outstanding. Big B plays second fiddle, but his role as the commanding officer packs a lot of punch. Om puri is classic. Boman Irani once again shows that he has a great screen presence (in fact the there was audible excitement from the audience on his entry!!!). Music is 1st class esp the title song, choreography & special effects superb.

The authentic locations and true to life feel of the film minus jingoism makes it a class product. Farhan Akhtar succeeds where others failed – evoking true sense of patriotism without going overboard. u can easily make out that this is definitely a class product, done with a lot of sincerity.

Worth repeated viewing!!!

-Arun Ganesh