Watch It For The Performances

By MovieTalkies.com, 04 April 2008 3 / 5

Yes, the film is heavily inspired by both Courage Under Fire and A Few Good Men; but then many of our highly rated Hindi films have been 'inspired' from foreign films and hence it is unfair to put Shaurya down because of its source of inspiration. Shaurya is one of those films which has a strong screenplay (Jaydeep Sarkar, Aparna Malhotra and Samar Khan) and great dialogues (Aparna Sen), but seems to falter at places in the execution. Where some scenes could have been extremely powerful and gripping (Kay Kay's intro while playing golf and his scene with Rahul Bose over coffee), they end up being just about ok. However the film does succeed in bringing to the foray certain issues which plague our military and it does make you think about the depth of discrimination and politics that our armed forces face. Yet you feel slightly disappointed because in spite of having, a novel subject, strong screenplay, crisp dialogues and great performances, Samar Khan falls short of creating a spellbinding cinematic experience. Siddhanth (Rahul Bose) is a carefree, bungee jumping military lawyer who has never entered the courtroom and feels files 'don't suit his image'. His best friend Akash (Javed Jaffrey) is also a military lawyer, but one who plays by the rules and is ambitious to make a name for himself in the military. Akash is handed a case to prosecute an army officer, Captain Javed Khan (Deepak Dobriyal) who shot his senior officer at point blank range. The case involves Akash being posted in Kashmir, and as Siddhanth doesn't want to be left behind, Akash pulls a few strings to get him to be the defence lawyer, since the case is an open and shut one wherein all Sid will have to do is plead guilty for his client, and for Akash, it is a case that can capitulate his career – a win-win situation for both. Things take a turn when feisty journalist Kavya Shastri (Minissha Lamba) enters the scene and halls up Siddhanth for “faffing” through the case and being a shame to his profession for not even knowing the basics of his case. This leads to Sid digging a bit deeper and realizing that this case is not what it seems, as the dead officer was the blue-eyed boy of Brigadier Pratap (Kay Kay Menon) and there is a lot which has been covered up, a lot which has been ignored. No doubts that Samar Khan has shown a vast improvement from his first film. However, at times it looks like he is merely executing the screenplay, rather than getting into creating a cinematic experience through directorial tools. Full marks to Aparna Malhotra for her dialogues and also to new costume designer Pooja Chhabria ,for creating a look for leading lady Minissha Lamba which is very different from what we have witnessed her in before. A talent to watch out for. Technically the film falls short with weak cinematography and an almost non-existent background score. A strong background would have enhanced the drama within the film, but sadly the film seems to drag, not because the edit is not crisp, but because there is too much silence and hence a lack of build up to the dramatic dialogues. Kay Kay Menon in a small role is absolutely brilliant. His body language, demeanour, expressions and of course delivery of some of the best lines, is absolutely brilliant. He overshadows Rahul Bose, the main protagonist of the film in almost each of their confrontation scenes. Rahul is good, but somehow one feels that we see too much Rahul Bose in his role rather than Siddhanth, and he doesn't really add anything new to his performance. It is only because of this that you find his performance average, even though there are no other inherent flaws and leading you to wonder whether he was the right choice for this role. Javed Jaffrey seems wasted and slightly miscast. Minissha Lamba is the breath of fresh air in the film both in terms of her character and performance. One only wishes she didn't disappear from the second half so abruptly and also we would have loved to see her released from prison in the end of the film. Watch out for her scene with Rahul Bose in the coffee shop. Amrita Rao is perfect in her small cameo as is Seema Biswas. Overall the film is definitely worth a once watch, and you will walk out of the cinema hall feeling content that the film was thought provoking and enjoyable, and yet feel slightly disappointed because it could have been brilliant.

Shaurya: Quiet and Understated

By MovieTalkies.com, 26 March 2008 3.5 / 5

Samar Khan's much talked about film Shaurya is due for release soon. There has been quite a lot of buzz surrounding the movie. It promises to be an absorbing drama by the looks of it. The film's music, however, does not touch any great heights. But it still remains an above average score composed by Adnan Sami, with lyrics by the venerable Javed Akhtar. One gets the feeling that this is the kind of film which expects to make waves with its drama and not so much its music. If seen and heard in that context, Shaurya's music seems to provide the perfect backdrop for the action to be played out. It is never too dramatic or overpowering but instead has a quiet beauty of its own. The album begins with a recitation by Shah Rukh Khan of a piece called 'Shaurya Kya Hai'. It is a very suitable and impressive opening indeed as the Khan weaves a magic wand with his words. The magic has as much to do with the words, as with the manner in which it is rendered by the actor. He did a somewhat similar job in Chak De India, with his impressive motivational speech. Shaurya Kya Hai goes on to try and explain the meaning of true valour. And the answer does not definitely lie with the man who wields the gun. After such an impressive opening, the second number that follows is equally impressive, but for an altogether different reason. 'Dheere Dheere', sung by Adnan and Sunidhi Chauhan is a beautiful romantic number, which reminds one of candlelight dinners, rain soaked evenings, and of course love. The number is remarkable for the manner in which it has been sung by Sunidhi. The singer who is known for letting loose, is seen in a totally different light. She is soft, playful and sounds really lovely. Adnan is a master with such numbers. It is quite his forte, hence it does not come as such a surprise to hear him croon 'Dheere Dheere.' This is by the best number in the album along with Shah Rukh Khan's recitation. Abhijeet springs the second surprise in this album. He teams up with Udit Narayan to sing a number called 'Dosti Kya Hai.' He seems to change and adapt his style marvelously to Adnan's style of music. There are very few of the Abhijeet mannerisms on display in this song. He underplays it superbly in this song as does Narayan to an extend. The result is another soft, whimsical number on the theme of friendship. Again, kudos to Javed Akhtar for penning such wonderful lines. It is not your usual Hindi film style, overdone, friendship piece, but more a muted and meaningful paean to friendship. Adnan and Sunidhi get together for yet another duet called 'Ghabra Ke Dar Dar Ke.' This number is very catchy and both singers do a great job of keeping the mood going. While this song to talks about the attitude with which one should lead life, it does so in a very light and easy manner, never sounding ponderous or heavy. It has the right amount of felicity and verve. Sunidhi makes an appearance with a solo number as well called 'Jaane Kyun Jaane Man.' The number sees Sunidhi do her usual act. Despite all the obvious effort that she puts in, it is quite an ordinary number. Kunal Ganjawala's rendition of 'Shaurya', the title track, rounds of this album. This number too is not catchy enough. In fact, this number, along with Sunidhi's solo effort, are the weakest links, musically speaking, in this album. Singer and parttime composer Adnan Sami has done a very good job on this album. Adnan seems to be growing as a composer with every film that he does. Shaurya sees him blend his musical style seamlessly with the demands of each song, and the ultimately, the film.

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