Unfair Comparisons?. Review on Lakshya

Dear Farhan,

I hope you are okay. I was a bit disturbed seeing you sporting magenta-coloured little-girl hairbands to hold back your tresses. I wonder if they had any adverse impact on the making of Lakshya.

I have been an admirer of your work ever since DCH, where you explored the minds of young loafers seeking a direction in life. When I heard the basic premise of your next venture, Lakshya, it did sound very promising. After all, it did appear as though you were focusing on the plot of a confused youth discovering his goal.

But after watching the film, I?m sorry to say, I?m very disappointed.

To start with, have you and Papa seen ?Vijeta?? Yes, this is the movie which starred Shashi Kapoor and Rekha as Kunal Kapoor?s parents. The basic plot of Lakshya seems exactly like Vijeta. No complaints about that. If you can have Devdas being recycled thrice, we can certainly have Vijeta remade once. But in the grandiosity of Lakshya, the goal seems to have been lost somewhere. By the way, what IS the goal? Is it to narrate the experiences of a loser coming to terms with himself after he finds a goal? If so, I think ?Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander? conveyed this with much more impact. Is it to depict patriotism and army life? Then maybe, movies like ?Border? or even ?Prahaar? (remember Nana Patekar?s directorial venture) were far more effective.

The protagonist?s objectives are just not clear. Is he seeking a goal in life just to prove his worth to his girlfriend? At least it appears to be. I would have preferred if he found a motivation within himself for that. That would have been much more credible as well as sustainable. Okay, even if one were to accept the basis of his relationship to be the prime mover towards his goal, his behaviour after achieving his objective is quite puzzling. Why does he behave so coldly towards his lady love even before he knows about her impending engagement? Is it his ego? If so, then his personality is quite complex, I must say.

His relationship with his father is quite clichéd. The comparisons with the elder brother et all, are directly lifted from ?Jo Jeeta Wahi Sikander?. But even a Kulbhushan Kharbanda did a more effective job in JJWS as compared to Boman Irani, who falls flat in the dramatic scene. Bless him, he was a riot in the comic roles, what happened?

The climax scene where the post is captured could have been much more gripping, given the detailed strategy and planning that the audience is made to participate in. The execution of the military plans is brilliantly handled in ?Border?. Why, even Aamir winning the cycling race in JJWS had the audience on the edge of their seats.

So in all, the film borrows a bit from here and a bit from there without doing justice to any. And this is also not done blatantly or tongue-in-cheek like lets say, Farha Khan in Main Hoon Na. Or am I making unfair comparisons?

Hrithik Roshan as Karan Shergill looks great as a army man. His sincerity and determination comes across through his eyes. But then, that is how Hrithik is. So (ok, this may be a bit unkind to him) there isn?t much effort required to portray these qualities. Yes, its admirable how he has handled the physicality required for this role, the tough army regimen etc. But then so have people like Kunal Kapoor in Vijeta or those non-famous actors in Prahaar. Or am I making unfair comparisons?

And what about the aimless Hrithik part? Frankly, HR looks too much of a good boy to behave in that kind of manner. The hairdo is quite silly, doesn?t suit him at all. This is a type of role which maybe a Saif Ali Khan can pull off with élan (ok, ok, accuse me of stereotyping), but HR needs to work on this act a bit more. Or am I making unfair comparisons?

Preity Zinta as Romilla Dutta looks the more confused of the two. She breaks relationships at the drop of a ring and seems quite unclear about what exactly she wants from her man. Moreover, Preity looks pretty old, tired and haggard (the crowfeet beneath her eyes give her age away). Modelled on Barkha Dutt of NDTV (the hair style, the reporting from Kargil warfront, even the surname), this could have been a live-wire and interesting role. However, the non-centrality of the character leaves a lot of potential wasted. And Romilla Dutta as a news-anchor lacks the poise and polish of Barkha Dutt. Or am I making unfair comparisons?

And like many have said, you did not need an actor of the stature of Amitabh Bachchan to perform the role of Sunil Damle. This is a best example of how expectations can be raised high and then not met. If he is shown to be a team leader, maybe a movie like Khakee gave him much more meat than this one. Or am I making unfair comparisons?

The songs look quite forced into the proceedings. ?Main Aisa kyon hoon? may be watched for its acrobatic rubber-band movements, but the zing of say, ?Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe? is missing. ?Agar main kahoon? is again insipid, if you compare it with ?Jaane kyon?. The title song as well as ?Kandhon se milte hain kandhe? are quite good, but, dare I say, do you think they are in the same class as ?Sandese aate hain? or even ?Chale chalo?? Or am I making unfair comparisons?

Now let me grant some positives. The performances of the supporting cast are very competent, particularly the armymen. Here a special mention must be made of Om Puri, Raj Zutshi, Sharad Sharma and a few other unknown actors who leave an impact in their small roles. The rock climbing scene and the beautiful Leh landscape is breathtaking. But I suppose, that?s it.

Maybe the fact that this was a Javed Akhtar (of Salim-Javed caliber) script that led me to have high expectations. Maybe the standards set by you in your debut film made me believe so. Or am I making unfair comparisons?

Your confused goalless fan?

P.S. Nice to see your clean shaven head after the movie. It suits you better. Lets hope you keep the style during the shoot of your next venture, which I?m eagerly awaiting?.