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By Sanjay Shah (Tubur Media World) Š2002 Bollyvista.com |
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Credits
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| Producer/s: |
Rajkumar Kohli |
| Director: |
Rajkumar Kohli |
| Cast: |
Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Manisha Koirala, Aftab Shivdasani, Aditya Pancholi, Rambha, Sharad Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Rajat Bedi, Johnny Lever, Mohini Sharma, Kiran Rathod, Nikita, Raza Murad, Shahbaaz Khan, Upasna Singh, Siddharth, Raju Mawani |
| Music: |
Anand Raaj Anand, Anand-Milind and Sandeep Chowta |
| Lyrics: |
Sameer, Dev Kohli & Nitin Raikwar |
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You seldom see films with a cast as big as this. Rajkumar Kohli's latest venture Jaani Dushman tries to repeat his own successful formula of previous blockbusters Nagin and Jaani Dushman of 1979. Frankly speaking, this poorly written film lacks too many things. But still, it has little strength that may make it a semi-hit.
It's a story of serpent lovers Kapil (Munish Kohli) and Vasundhara (Manisha Koirala). Many centuries ago, they were in love but cursed by a Sadhu whose dhyan (meditation) was broken because of the couple's dancing. After blowing off steam he calms down and says that though Vasundhara will die at the sunset, she will meet Kapil again in 21st century. And Sadhu also asks Kapil to reside in a Banyan tree till then.
The film begins with a marriage scene where Vasundhara's ghost kills Rajesh (Rajat Bedi), her colleague during the college days. Other colleagues are being introduced as well and they include Atul (Akshay Kumar), Vijay (Sunil Shetty), Vivek (Sonu Nigam), Prem (Aftab Shivdasani), Ashok (Aditya Pancholi), Neeta (Rambha), Victor (Sharad Kapoor) and Abdul (Arshad Warsi). Vasundhara was Divya in her college days and Rajesh along with Madan (Siddharth) had raped her. Earlier, Divya was once saved from Rajesh and Madan by her lover Karan (Sunny Deol), an ex-student of the college but this time around, he is not present to save her. While committing suicide then, she pledges to kill both the culprits as well as her other friends. Why friends? Because she dies with the misunderstanding that all her friends had helped these two guys to get an opportunity to rape her.
Vasundhara and Kapil kill one after the other member of the group. Meanwhile, college's principal Joseph (Raj Babbar) tries his best to save them by giving them a miraculous locket. But the ghastly pair of Vasundhara and Kapil kills each one of them when they have luck in their favor. Most members of the group are killed by the time Karan returns from abroad and...
Kohli's Jaani Dushman part II is not a total let down. It has some gripping moments when serpents try and succeed in killing some members. Even the interval point is quite interesting. But the overall narrative lacks imaginative. The film has some scenes and inspired by The Mummy Returns and The Terminator. The maker has spent Rs. 5 to 7 crore on the special effects. Cinematography (Thomas Xavier and Damodar Naidu) is not up to the mark. The making has taken long time and its impact is visible in many frames. Sunil Singh and Pawan Verma have failed to do something outstanding in the art department while action by Tinu Verma is at least better.
Story by Aatish is routine and a medley of previous films of this genre. Dialogues by K.K. Singh lack depth. Choreography by Ganesh Acharya and Bosco-Ceasar is good. Kuku and Cuckoo's editing falls short in their efforts to keep the flow well. The musical score is good but none of the song comes at an appropriate juncture and hence even hummable numbers sound boring. But the signature track and 'Gyaarah bajey' are the numbers that stand apart.
There is no point in counting minus points here but a few things really needed to be mentioned. The director has shown all the artistes are college students. How can one accept heroes who are in some thirties or forties as college guys? Or it was a senior citizen's college? The worst of all is the scene when all the members of group plead Divya to let off Rajesh and Madan who try to rape her. Such scenes are actually too bad to accept. Kapil is shown having unending powers but it is strange that he is sometime visible to all but becomes invisible at director's convenience. The manner in which Kapil and Vasundhara are shown defeated is also very old-fashioned. And no reason is given why Joseph never uses his supernatural dexterity for overpowering ghosts while innocent youngsters are being killed.
Because the cast is so big, most artistes have got smaller roles to play. Akshay Kumar, Aditya Pancholi, Sunny Deol, Manisha Koirala, Sonu Nigam and Raj Babbar are fortunate of the bunch, as they have got better shares than the rest. They do justice to their parts well. Munish Kohli impresses. Others are just okay. On the directorial front, Kohli should be praised for not only managing the jumbo cast but completing the movie and releasing it. Had the script been well conceived and the film designed better, Jaani Dushman would have turn out to be a real entertainer. Still, it will appeal to the viewers of lesser IQs and those who are happy to see this cast together. |
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