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Yaadein... (2001)
1/10
Three hours of Coca Cola ads and an empty soul
29 July 2001
Warning: Spoilers
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)
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The Most Overrated Hindi Film of all time!
15 April 2001
Though beloved among many people, I was not so impressed with this film. Khan and Mukherjee play expecting parents when she suddenly dies, leaving Khan with the daughter. Later, the girl who finds out the story of her father's past love life in letters her mother left her. We learn that Kajol was Khan's best friend and that she loved him immensely. The dead mother pleads for her daughter to bring the old lovers together. The first half of the film is absolutely silly where all actors play teenagers half their age and prance around in Tommy Hilfiger brand name clothes. The second half of the film is a sappy event where the actors cry and sob because they can't be together. The overall premise is a cheap setup for tears and the plot is just tiresome. Countless Filmfare Awards for Picture, Actor (Shahrukh), Actress (Kajol), Supporting Actress (Mukherjee), Supporting Actor (Salman), Costume, Art Direction and God knows what else and why. The Special Edition DVD contains restored scenes with Director's explanation.

OVERALL RATING - ** out of four
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10/10
The best movie of the year
22 October 1999
One day, a movie called "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" was released. It was one of the best movies in Hindi movies and remained that way only until a few months ago. I believe we have a movie to take that place.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali is a genius. What more is there to say? This movie is undoubtedly the best movie I've seen in years, packed with superb acting, beautiful costumes and dazzling scenery. It's better than Dil To Pagal Hai, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Duplicate put together!

This is THE best movie of the year. I know the word "TAAL" comes into mind, but that was junk compared to this. Aishwarya Rai gives a MUCH better performance in this movie. She is the most surprising thing about the movie. She has proven herself to be one of the best, if not the best, talented actress. Now Aishwarya has risen to the number one actress spot on my list.

This is an absolute must for any person who watches Indian movies or even once did and now doesn't. This movie WILL NOT fail you. If possible, try to get the movie on DVD, that is the only way to recapture the actual colour from the film.
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Taal (1999)
8/10
Not a bad job...
19 August 1999
Subhash Ghai has done a pretty decent job with this movie. Although he will never make a movie like Pardes again (which he tried to incorporate into this movie ALOT), he definitely has a blockbuster on his hands. We see he has borrowed from many movies like PARDES (of course!), Dil Se, Bombay and Dil To Pagal Hai. It's like all these movies have been blended together. The plot is ok, and the ending is haywire and predictable. The soundtrack is amazing though. Maybe even better than the movie. A.R. Rahman seems to be running out of ideas because there are two remixes of two songs which are really uneeded. But the other music, vocal and instrumental are amazing, especially Asha Bhonsle's solo song which is a fun, upbeat song, reminding us of Rangeela's powerful music.
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