Alone and Different. Review on Alag

ALAG is a story of a boy who is different and who is alone. The young lad is born with unusual characteristics that makes him prone to maladjustment vis-a-vis the normal environment and at the same time makes him gifted with special powers. The movie had its soul in the right place. But, sadly, the execution (especially the screenplay) as at times so poor that it makes you cringe. The theme had a lot of promise and could have easily made it a landmark Indian movie, but the director perhaps was clueless about fleshing out his vision. Akshay Kapoor, as the special protagonist - Tejas - tries real hard to fit into the shoes of the character, and he deserves special mention for just that. He is pathetically let down by the weak script, like the rest of the members of the cast, as he doesn't know whether to portray desperation, vulnerability or confusion. Diya Mirza plays his love-interest Poorva, who sympathises with Tejas and wants to make him feel complete, by getting him to interact with others. Sharad Saxena, Jayant Kripalani, Beena, Mukesh Tiwari, Tom Alter and Avtar Gill are also in the cast. The cinematography is the biggest asset of the film and many of the shot-compositions and framings are really praiseworthy. The musical score is competent, though two of the song sequences are simply unnecessary. Akshay Kapoor, who had debuted in Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jaao, should be getting plum acting assignments after this, but Diya Mirza's career might still not show signs of prosperity as this particular film hardly showcase her acting ability. Director Ashu Y. Trikha should stay away from movies with message, the friendly support of big stars ( in the closing credit song sequence, courtesy producer Subi Samuel).