Very disappointing despite strong finish. Review on Om Jai Jagdish

Much has been made of Anupam Kher's first foray into direction. He has always been a capable, dependable actor, and one would think he would impart some of his expert knowledge to his huge star cast.

Sorry to disappoint you, but no such luck here folks! Om Jai Jagdish is a mushy, choppy, badly put-together film that would be a complete failure if not for the melodious music of Anu Maalik (or however he spells his name these days). The performances, surprisingly, are ridiculously over-the-top and unrealistic. And sadly, I must say that despite a few moments of brilliance (especially post-interval), the direction is absolutely horrendous.

When I first heard the story, I admit I had high hopes for the film. Fardeen, Anil Kapoor, and Abhishek play three brothers, and screen icon Waheeda Rehman plays their doting mother. Everything is hunky-dory in the beginning with Anil working as an executive at a big-time music company, Fardeen studying automobile engineering in America, and Abhishek spending quality time with some tapori friends in college. Anil's only job seems to be chatting with his boss about love (and boy, does that get annoying!) and lecturing about the importance of family to whomever will listen. Things get interesting (or at least I hoped) when Anil's boss turns traitor (for reasons still very unclear to me), Fardeen's American desi NRI girlfriend causes trouble, and Abhishek starts hacking school computers for exam papers.

Let's start first with the cast. I'm getting a little bored of seeing Anil Kapoor in one goody-goody role after another. I think the guy should move on and do some more substance roles instead of playing the always-suffering, do-gooder hero. All he seems to do is smile wistfully from time and time and drone on about love and family. Fardeen and Abhishek were absolutely terrible. Fardeen's lack of acting talent is acceptable in mindless entertainers like Pyar Tune Kya Kiya or Love ke Liye kuch bhi Karega, but here, Kher really needed a more mature actor for this part. And Abhishek...ummm...I just don't like him. He has absolutely no chemistry with his love interest, the pretty Tara Sharma, and he really hams up the emotional scenes (even worse than Anil). Waheeda Rehman gives a decent performance (although it is sorta strange that she seems to have no clue what's going on in her sons' lives).

Now on to the love interests. I will only mention Tara Sharma in passing, she has more screen time during her two songs (which are awesome) than she does in the rest of the movie. Her acting (all ten seconds of it) is decent but nothing special. Mahima Chaudhary is annoying in the beginning, but becomes more and more likeable as the movie progresses. Urmila is good in her role, although she is typecast as the typical American desi NRI brat. Anupam Kher must be taking these NRI stereotypes from other notable bad directors like Subhash Ghai (Pardes) and Rishi Kapoor (Ab Ab Laut Chalen).

The numerous plot holes didn't help the film either. Fardeen and Urmila have a horrible fight and Urmila walks out. The next thing we know, we're at a house auction and Urmila is standing loyally with the rest of the family. And I still don't quite understand Anil's relationship with this boss.

The music, which has been much maligned, is truly awesome. Shaadi has a great beat and some nice vocals from Shaan, not too mention some great dance moves from Abhishek. His dancing has really improved since his ''Refugee'' days (just don't expect hrithik)! Happy Days are Here Again, despite its ridiculous title and even more ridiculous lyrics, is worth a listen. Chori Chori features some nice cinematography and great singing by Alka Yagnik. It's kinda sad to hear Sameer's inane English lyrics, but Anu Maalik's music more than compensates for that.

On the whole...I really didn't enjoy this movie. It could have been so much more. As for now, Anupam Kher, please stick to your day job.