Article Updated 21 January, 2005 10:32:21 PM IST   Kisna By Prema K. ©2005 Bollyvista.com   'Kisna' is a love story of a different kind! The visuals, the songs, and background score add to its charm and make it special. The songs are superbly picturised. Although it is a love story, it is refreshingly different and well handled by director Subhash Ghai. On the face of it, it might seem to move very slowly but credit has to be given to the man for unfolding his magnum opus on screen so brilliantly. A lesser director could have easily faltered. The effort gone into the making of the film comes through. So does the sincerity of the maker and his conviction about the film. The film scores in all these areas. A young Indian, Kisna (Vivek Oberoi), defies his family and shields a British girl, Katherine (Antonia Bernath), who is also his childhood friend, from an enraged mob of nationalists. Catherine happens to be the young daughter of a ruthless British Deputy Commissioner (Michael Maloney). The Indians attack the Commissioner's house and Kisna takes it upon himself to save Catherine from their clutches. Supported by his mother, he decides to escort Catherine to the British High Commission in New Delhi, but he has to face opposition from his evil uncle (Amrish Puri), elder brother Shankar (Yashpal Sharma) and a scheming, lusty prince, Raghuraj (Rajat Kapoor). En route, Kisna and Catherine's friendship blossoms into love, thereby complicating Kisna's life. He is already engaged to Laxmi (Isha Sharvani). But this escape journey embarked upon by Kisna and Katherine slow down the pace of the film. It is long and torturous (pun intended) and has more than its share of thorns strewed along. The film can become more interesting if this bit is made crisp. The film has its moments especially those between Kisna and Katherine. Two scenes really stand out. When little Katherine comes back with a present for her friend, Kisna. The other is when they first discover their love for each other as adults after a dip in the Ganga. It was like they almost kissed and made erotic love through their eyes. Their relationship has been shown as one much above physical love. There is a bit of skin show in the film that doesn't really seem necessary. Ashok Mehta's cinematography is flawless. The locales of North India are breathtakingly beautiful. Brilliant action sequences by Tinu Verma. Now for the performances. Antonio is the best of the lot. She is endearing as well as stunning with a vulnerable face and has great acting talent. She is a scene-stealer. Vivek Oberoi is restrained and good. He suits the character. The other newcomer, Isha Sharvani, does not get much scope for performance but displays her dancing abilities well. She also seems confident for a newcomer. Amrish Puri as the evil uncle is good in a brief role. Watching him on screen makes one feel more for the loss of one of our brilliant actors. But how one wishes his character was more etched out like Mogambo's and thus immortalized his last celluloid presence. Sushmita Sen dazzles in a scene that seems like something taken straight out of Mughal-e-Azam. It is good relief. Polly Adams, as the old Catherine, is very good. Om Puri seems wasted in an insignificant role. Yashpal Sharma makes an impact. Hrishita Bhatt is her usual bubbly self. The film is sure to meet with mixed reactions and will appeal to the Indian audience with a different sensibility. It will surely appeal to the older audience as well as the NRIs. **** (FOUR STARS) *poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/29/4048