How depressing. I look forward to Subhash Ghai films every two years, I really do. I loved PARDES (3.5/4), and I appreciated parts of TAAL (3/4), so the expectations for his next film YAADEIN were naturally sky high. When TAAL released in the summer of 1999, one would have thought that Subhash Ghai would have taken the critics' reviews seriously. Overall, the film was well-liked, but it was in general agreement that the storyline of the film was poor and lacked originality. Therefore, I thought that by now, Ghai would be able to craft a perfect film, as I heard the pre-buzz about the film to be good. I thought the storyline of the film was interesting, not as original as I had hoped. But the film had names attached to it that could not be ignored.
Firstly, Jackie Shroff has slowly become one of my favorite actors now that he had embraced his maturity and given up trashy roles; watch MISSION KASHMIR (3.5/4) and tell me if I'm wrong. Secondly, Hritik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor - enough said. And finally, Anu Malik had claimed to have given the best score of the year. When the soundtrack released, I found the flak it received quite unfair, as I like the score, but I definitely did not think it was great. A few songs are good, many are average and only one is truly great - of course, the well loved title track.
Well, none of the hype lived upto the film. The storyline goes something like this. Shroff is left with three young girls to raise and marry off when his wife suddenly is killed in a police chase. The girls find love through different ways, but the last daughter (Kareena Kapoor) encounters the biggest problem when her lover (Hritik Roshan) is engaged (conveniently by force) to someone else. Well-crafted film bites much more than it can chew, leaving only moments of brilliance. Ghai's script, though dialogue heavy, is much too predictable and overlong, concluding with a less than satisfying tie-up. Roshan is excellent; Shroff does very well with a poorly defined role. Look out for the blatantly disgusting Coca Cola and other brand name advertisements placed throughout the film; it heavily cheapens the integrity of the film.
OVERALL RATING: * 1/2 out of four (poor, passable)
Firstly, Jackie Shroff has slowly become one of my favorite actors now that he had embraced his maturity and given up trashy roles; watch MISSION KASHMIR (3.5/4) and tell me if I'm wrong. Secondly, Hritik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor - enough said. And finally, Anu Malik had claimed to have given the best score of the year. When the soundtrack released, I found the flak it received quite unfair, as I like the score, but I definitely did not think it was great. A few songs are good, many are average and only one is truly great - of course, the well loved title track.
Well, none of the hype lived upto the film. The storyline goes something like this. Shroff is left with three young girls to raise and marry off when his wife suddenly is killed in a police chase. The girls find love through different ways, but the last daughter (Kareena Kapoor) encounters the biggest problem when her lover (Hritik Roshan) is engaged (conveniently by force) to someone else. Well-crafted film bites much more than it can chew, leaving only moments of brilliance. Ghai's script, though dialogue heavy, is much too predictable and overlong, concluding with a less than satisfying tie-up. Roshan is excellent; Shroff does very well with a poorly defined role. Look out for the blatantly disgusting Coca Cola and other brand name advertisements placed throughout the film; it heavily cheapens the integrity of the film.
OVERALL RATING: * 1/2 out of four (poor, passable)