Farhan Akhtar (Dil Chahta Hai) outdoes himself on his sophomore directorial effort the lesser successful Lakshya, which deals with a young man coming of age and trying to find himself in the world. The ever charming Hrithik Roshan plays Karan Shergill, a preppy happy-go-lucky slacker who is just comfortable going to school, hanging out with his best buddy Romila Dutta (Preity Zinta sporting really bad hair in the first half of the film) and just taking it easy in his parents house. Everything is fine until one day, his father begins to pressure and pester him about what he intends to do with his life, then he compares him to his brother who lives and works abroad which brings down Karan's spirit. He (Karan) tries to seek comfort with Romila but in the long run, she stands up to him as well and tells him that if he doesn't give up his slacker ways, she cannot continue to hangout with him. Most of this is told in flashback, as present day Karan (in a quest to prove himself to all of him friends and loved ones) has already joined the army and is about embark on a very dangerous journey to secure the Indian perimeter and get rid of Pakistani terrorists. Romila is the reason for most of the flashbacks, as her present day self is now a famed reporter and is engaged to somebody else. The chemistry between Zinta and Hrithik is as solid as it has been, which is probably why they have starred in so many films together. Every song and piece of music in this film is great, especially the song and dance between Karan and Romila, and not to mention that knockout 'Main Aisa Kyu Hoon.' Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Sharad Kapoor, Amrish Puri (in a very special appearance) among others, round out the stellar cast in strong supporting roles. It's a great film and cinematographically stunning! India should have been proud but instead, the movie was ignored at the box office.
