Barsaat

Article Updated 21 August, 2005 02:24:09 PM IST

Barsaat

This one is for the masses especially in smaller cities and towns. There is a bit of the family bonding happening in the second half, a desperate attempt to appeal to the family audiences. The Karva Chauth and Diwali celebrations are thrown in to add some punch to the proceedings on screen.

'Barsaat' is a sort of love triangle. Arav Kapoor (Bobby Deol) is a car designer in the U.S. who bumps into Anna (Bipasha Basu), first in a temple, then at a wedding and then in a car showroom. While she insists that it's destiny he passes it off as mere coincidence. Anna is attracted to Arav, but he isn't.

Arav joins the BMW team and the Chairman of the company (Shakti Kapoor), who happens to be Anna's grand-father is mighty impressed with his designs. Anna does her best to woo Arav and gradually he is drawn towards her. Soon Arav and Anna's engagement is announced. The occasion is the unveiling of the latest BMW model (Arav's design). Everything seems too good to be true until one day when Arav gets a letter from India. His father is seriously ill. He dashes home. Here he also comes face to face with his past.

He had been forced to marry his childhood friend, Kajal (Priyanka Chopra), by his parents. Now Arav wants to divorce her so that he can marry Anna. Initially Kajal avoids the issue but gives in when he tells her about his marriage plans with Anna. Soon Anna and her grand-father fly to India for the marriage. By then, Arav has fallen in love with Kajal. The end is predictable but very stupid.

The film has major flaws that seem unpardonable in the age of modern cinema. Not much seems to happen in the first one hour. It's like a routine love story with free flowing songs. Fortunately the pace picks up a bit, post-interval. But still it isn't enough to make an impact. In an age of mobile phones and emails why does Arav keep in touch with his family back home only through letters. At least it seems that's the only mode of communication. His family doesn't even seem to have a land phone, surprisingly, although they seem to be very well off.

Considering his father's illness forced him to return to India, there is no mention of that later. Arav rushes to India without even having time to meet Anna, so where did he have time to buy gifts for his family? How can a man conveniently forget the fact that he's married (even if it's unhappily married!) when he meets another girl abroad?

By the way in this modern age, do people in small towns fix up their kids' marriages when they are mere ten-year-olds? It seems very outdated! There are too many unnecessary songs that slacken the pace of the film. The music is lackluster. The film lacks fire.

The three main characters are subdued. Whatever attempt at humour, falls flat! Bobby Deol looks good and seems to have put in an effort. Bipasha looks alluring in some scenes and vampish in the others. She seems too artificial and made up and looks out of character as a girl in love. Her acting is nothing to write about. Priyanka irritates in places when she tries to overdo her bubbly act. Overall a below average film.

** (TWO STARS)
*poor; **average; ***good; ****very good; *****excellent

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