By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Monday,
April
17,
2006
Raj
Kanwar
has
an
impressive
track
record.
A
majority
of
his
films
have
worked
at
the
box-office,
including
his
last
release,
Andaaz.
Expectedly,
the
expectations
from
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye,
his
new
film
that
teams
him
with
Andaaz
hero
Akshay
Kumar
again,
are
humungous.
Also,
since
the
head
honchos
of
music
company
T-Series,
Bhushan
Kumar
and
Kishan
Kumar,
are
in
the
producers'
seat
with
Kanwar,
the
expectations
only
mount
further.
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye
had
all
the
trappings
that
make
a
memorable
love
story:
A
good-looking
cast,
melodious
music
and
dazzling
locales
of
Canada.
But
something's
missing...
For
any
love
story
to
strike
a
chord,
it
ought
to
be
embellished
with
moments
that
make
you
fall
in
love
with
the
characters.
Most
importantly,
the
sequences
should
march
into
your
heart
through
the
eyes.
Unfortunately,
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye
is
all
about
great
visuals,
while
the
emotional
side
[that
should
be
the
hallmark]
is
superficial.
Simply
put,
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye
is
body
beautiful,
minus
soul.
Inspired
by
director
Bronwen
Hughes'
Ben
Affleck-Sandra
Bullock
starrer
Forces
of
Nature
[1999],
which
was
remade
by
Mehul
Kumar
as
Kitne
Door
Kitne
Pass
[2002;
Fardeen
Khan,
Amrita
Arora],
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye
is
a
good
opportunity
gone
amiss.
Aditya
[Akshay
Kumar,
an
automobile
engineer,
is
engaged
to
Sonia
[Bipasha
Basu],
a
fashion
designer.
As
individuals,
Aditya
and
Sonia
are
not
on
the
same
wavelength.
For
Sonia,
career
comes
first.
And
as
much
as
Aditya
tries
to
overlook
those
facts,
they
keep
coming
in
the
way.
Though
the
marriage
date
is
fixed,
Aditya
has
to
leave
for
Canada
to
learn
about
the
technique
of
a
new
car
model,
to
be
launched
in
India;
while
Sonia
has
to
leave
for
Paris
for
a
fashion
show.
Aditya
arrives
in
Canada
where
his
sister
Simran
[Bhagyashree]
lives.
He
meets
the
family,
but
cannot
live
with
them
as
the
company
has
given
him
an
apartment
close
to
the
workshop.
But
he
makes
it
a
point
to
meet
the
family
on
weekends.
He
bumps
into
Jia
[Katrina
Kaif]
more
than
once.
Jia,
daughter
of
business
tycoon
Yashwardhan,
has
come
to
Canada
to
shop
for
her
wedding.
Her
marriage
has
been
fixed
with
business
giant
Karan
Oberoi
[Anil
Kapoor].
Jia
is
a
simple
girl
with
simple
needs.
She
had
everything
she
desired
in
childhood,
but
yearns
to
spend
time
with
her
ever-so-busy
father.
Now,
the
man
her
father
has
chosen
for
her
hardly
has
any
time
for
her.
Aditya
and
Jia
manage
to
spend
time
with
each
other
and
as
time
passes,
the
friendship
thickens.
However,
a
misunderstanding
with
Aditya
makes
Jia
return
to
India
to
get
married
to
Karan.
Aditya
also
returns
to
India
to
get
married
to
Sonia
and
does
not
attempt
to
meet
Jia
ever
again.
But
fate
makes
them
meet
for
the
last
time
--
at
Jia's
wedding!
The
problems
with
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye
are
manifold
-
The
story
borrows
heavily
from
Yash
Raj's
successful
films,
mainly
D.D.L.J.
Yes,
the
basic
premise
is
borrowed
from
Forces
of
Nature,
but
the
film
gives
you
a
constant
feeling
of
dÉjÀ
vu.
Take
for
instance
Anil
Kapoor's
introduction
[he
is
told
Akshay
is
from
the
room
service
department
and
Anil
tips
him].
The
entire
sequence
is
a
straight
lift
from
the
Julia
Roberts-Hugh
Grant-Alex
Baldwin
starrer
Notting
Hill.
Even
the
scene
when
Anil
reprimands
Katrina
is
straight
out
of
TITANIC,
when
an
overtly
possessive
Billy
Zane
reprimands
Kate
Winslet.
There
are
too
many
songs
in
the
narrative.
Whether
or
not
the
situation
warrants
a
song,
there's
one
after
every
15/20
minutes.
The
story
refuses
to
move
in
the
first
hour
after
the
characters
are
established.
All
that
the
lead
pair
does
is
talk,
talk
and
more
talk.
In
this
age
of
love
and
lust,
the
couple
don't
even
own
up
to
the
fact
that
they've
developed
feelings
for
each
other.
At
the
intermission
point,
with
Anil
Kapoor
making
a
dramatic
entry,
you
expect
some
movement
in
the
story.
Again,
nothing
happens.
The
climax
is
the
weakest
link
of
the
enterprise.
Not
only
has
it
been
stretched
endlessly,
even
the
culmination
to
the
story
is
powerless.
First
Anil
catches
Akshay
and
Katrina
red-handed,
then
Anil
shows
his
displeasure,
then
the
car
accident,
then
Anil
re-unites
the
lovers
[even
after
Anil
and
Katrina
have
wed]...
the
last
25
minutes
give
you
the
impression
that
the
writer
doesn't
believe
in
short-n-sweet
endings.
Given
the
fact
that
director
Raj
Kanwar
is
saddled
with
a
lifeless
script,
he
tries
to
compensate
with
breath-taking
visuals
and
gloss.
But
let's
get
one
thing
right:
No
amount
of
gloss
and
glitter
can
actually
compensate
for
a
sound
story.
The
viewer
yearns
for
a
spellbinding
story
at
the
end
of
the
day!
Editing
is
another
area
where
the
film
falters
badly.
Either
the
editor
must've
fallen
in
love
with
the
product
and
he
forgot
all
about
editing/trimming
or
he
doesn't
know
his
job.
The
film
should
be
trimmed
by
30
minutes
at
least.
Anu
Malik's
music
is
decent,
but
you
remember
them
less
for
the
tunes
and
more
for
the
snazzy
picturization.
'Fanah'
and
the
title
track
do
leave
a
mark,
but
it's
the
Himesh
Reshammiya
rendered/composed
title
track
that
stands
out
as
the
best
piece
in
the
enterprise.
Cinematography
[Vikas
Shivraman]
is
magnificent.
The
ace
lensman
has
done
complete
justice
to
the
eye-filling
locales
of
Canada
as
also
the
lavish
sets.
The
styling
and
the
sets
are
top
class.
In
fact,
the
producers
need
to
be
complimented
for
leaving
no
stone
unturned
when
it
came
to
giving
the
film
a
spectacular
look
and
also
for
promoting
the
film
to
the
optimum.
Akshay
Kumar
does
reasonably
well,
although
he
looks
too
mature
for
these
lovey-dovey
characters.
Katrina
Kaif
is
a
complete
revelation.
Taking
giant
strides
as
an
actor,
she
is,
without
doubt,
the
star
of
the
show.
It's
her
magnetic
presence
and
dependable
performance
that
you
carry
home
once
the
show
has
ended.
Anil
Kapoor
is
okay,
but
why
does
the
corporate
tycoon
sport
an
unshaven,
untidy
look
all
through?
Bipasha
has
two
songs
and
few
scenes,
which
she
carries
off
with
panache.
Bhagyashree
is
up
to
the
mark.
Helen
is
wasted.
Vivek
Shauq
is
alright.
Gurpreet
Guggi
and
Upasna
Singh
don't
get
any
scope.
The
remaining
characters
[Puneet
Issar-Anju
Mahndroo-Delnaaz
Paul,
Ranjeet-Neena
Kulkarni,
Mahesh
Thakur
and
Manoj
Joshi]
are
hardly
there.
On
the
whole,
Humko
Deewana
Kar
Gaye
is
body
beautiful,
minus
soul.
At
the
box-office,
the
film
has
some
scope
thanks
to
the
fantastic
promotion,
but
a
poor
script
is
its
biggest
flaw.
Below
expectations!