Vaada raha... i promise Movie Review: Good intent, but faulty execution

This is Samir Karnik's third film with Bobby Deol as a hero. In fact, 'Vaada Raha' sees Bobby and child artist Dwij Yadav coming together after Nanhe Jaisalmer. The film's story is supposed to be poignant and touching, centering around the feeling of hope, but somehow it fails to evoke much emotion. A lot of that has to do with the fact that there is hardly anything original about the script and it takes recourse to too many clich?s. There are areas which have not been properly explored by the director and, in short, Vaada Raha does not make for a very satisfying film experience.

In recent times, the child actor in Hindi films has evolved to a large extend and therefore, it seems a little inappropriate to hear the character of Roshan, played by Dwij, to be mouthing lines which would sound better coming from an adult. A little more thought given to the dialogues would have helped in generating a more genuinely poignant feeling about the movie. Hence, the director's intent may be great, but his execution definitely isn't. The crux of the entire film is the relationship between Bobby and Dwij's character and this crucial aspect doesn't evoke the kind of emotion that it should, thus dooming the film's outcome. Of course, the actors, both Bobby and Dwij try very hard to lend credibility to their parts but are handicapped by their clich?d roles.

On the face of it, the story, even though it sounds a little familiar, has all the makings of a small sweet movie. Duke, a successful doctor with a passion for cancer research, has a fairly happy and fulfilled life. He has his dog for company at home and a loving girlfriend, Nalini (Kangana Ranaut) in his life. But fate plays a cruel trick on him and, following an accident, is paralysed from his neck downwards. The inevitable happens, his girlfriend ditches him and he loses all hope in his life and turns into a bitter and angry young man. Into his life at the hospital, arrives Roshan (Dwij), a young kid, who makes it his mission in life to change the despair in the doctor's life to hope.

Despite the clich?d script, there are a few sequences which do manage to touch one's heart, but they are fleeting moments. For the major part of the movie, both Bobby's and Dwij's characters start to grate on one's nerves. Also, towards the end, once Bobby's character recovers, he ends up marrying his girlfriend, who had ditched him in the first place. There is no scene in between which serves as a justification for his actions.

Bobby Deol tries very hard but is handicapped by a faulty script and his own limitations as an actor. Dwij Yadav is definitely a talented kid and would have fared better if he were handled with a little more control. Kangana's presence in the film is a mystery. One wonders what a talented actress like her was doing by accepting such a half baked role. The other actors like Mohnish Behl and Sharat Saxena turn in competent performances. The film's music score has a few gems but is again not outstanding. Binod Pradhan's cinematography is top grade as usual.

Vaada Raha may have its heart in the right place but director Samir Karnik fails in his effort to make the film sound and feel real.