Love in the Times of War!. Review on Yahaan

I went to watch Yahaan with a lot of expectations, considering that the trailors and promos of the movies looked very promising and I can say that I wasn't at all disappointed!

The Story

The movie is set against the backdrop of current Kashmir, terrorist's spreading terror and the omnipresent shadow of the Indian army fighting it out, and the hapless locals who bear the brunt of both! In the midst of this ongoing process of war and peace, comes Captain Courageous, Aman, a young, dashing and idealistic Captain in the Indian Army who is posted in Kashmir. And in his very first patrolling duty, he catches the eye of a lovely local Kashmiri muslim girl, Adaa, and its love at first sight for both the youngsters! But of course, both of them are aware of the grim realities that surround them, yet their love blossoms slowly and steadily amongst ''garam chai'', torch-lights, coy glances, flirtatious bantering at the local market, sneaking in & out of the Captain’s bunker between suppressed smiles and giggles! It doesn't take long for the young captain and the effervescent Kashmiri lass to fall hopelessly and madly in love. But fate has something else in store, as the story progress’s, we get to know that Adaa is the younger sister of a notorious and most wanted Terrorist Shakeel who has been responsible for a number of merciless attacks on the locals and is the prime target of the Indian Army posted in Kashmir. The proceedings get complicated, as Aman is targeted by both the terrorists group headed by Shakeel and an personal vendetta seeking Major who labels him a traitor and uses Aman’s relationship with Adaa against him.

The story gains momentum with a determinate and devotedly in love Adaa finding Justice for Aman by running from pillar to post appealing to any one who would save him from being Court Marshaled and the movie ends with a brilliantly picturised climax where Aman saves a group of innocent hostages from Shakeel's clutches, thereby restoring his lost honor and his estranged sweetheart!

The Plus's

Breathtaking cinematography and heart-stopping visuals! Its rare to see Indian movies take cinematography to such levels, but not surprising at all because the Camera work has been done by an American! Kashmir has been seen in a never before mould in this movie, perpetually shrouded by mist and the entire movie has been shot in blue light, giving it a very real feel! Simultaneously, the songs and the romance sequences involving Aman and Adaa has been shot in bright, picturesque locations which simply enthrall your eyes and mind! After Parineeta, I can correctly say that Yahaan is one of the most well-shot movie to come out this year!

The Music of Yahaan is spell-bounding, especially the mesmerizing duet, ''Naam adaa likhna'' tugs at your heart-strings and instantaneously transports you to the Kashmir that should be than the one it is. The other numbers are equally soulful, but after hearing this one, I really can't recollect them!

Performances

Jimmy Shergill has given an amazing performance, definitely his career best and perhaps one of the better ones to come out this year! He looks extremely dashing and attractive in the Military fatigues and looks every inch an Army Wallah! His performance is very understated and subdued but it is exactly what one would expect out of a character like Aman, who is both cautious and open as a person. In the very first sequence when he encounters Adaa, his expression's are so natural as he gasps at the beauty of the local and then suddenly becomes aware of his fellow army officers standing nearby and immediately averts his gaze from her! His progression from the reticent yet compassionate army officer, to the resolutely in love man, who refuses to bow to either the dikats of the army or the religious fanatism of the terrorists is superbly portrayed!

Minissha Lamba is fresh and easy to look at but somehow doesn’t lend credibility to the character of Adaa. Though her looks and accent suit the Kashmiri character she plays, her dialogue delivery seems as if she is rehearsing for a school play. But overall, considering that she is a newcomer and the role is comparatively tough one, Minissha comes out fine. One of best sequences involving Adaa is actually the soulful and haunting melody ''Naam Adaa Likhna'' in which her expression's are very good, otherwise she keeps smiling throughout the movie, which is rather a strange thing, because of her decidedly unfortunate circumstances in the story.

The support cast is very good, and everyone from Shakeel, Adaa's terrorist brother to the really funny Dadi, who smokes Cigarettes is quite commendable and lend ample support to the proceedings.

Outstanding scenes

The scene where Aman and his platoon hunts out and captures the Al-samad chief was brilliant and kept you on the seat’s edge! Also, the scene where Aman is being held house arrest while being court marshaled was extremely well picturized.

All the romantic sequences between Aman and Adaa was very sweet and heart-warming and surprisingly very realistic. Aman's instantaneous attraction to Adaa, his playful flirting & teasing with her and wooing her in a typical Shakespearean style underneath her Balcony is bound to bring a smile on your face! Adaa's initial reluctance against the ''Fauji'' despite her infatuation for the good-looking army-walla is very well-portrayed and her progression from mere physical attraction to a lifelong love is convincingly shown. The tongue in cheek remarks from both Aman and Adaa for each other are actually very funny and cute and bring out their breezy romance finely.

One of the best scenes in the movie was the dialogues between Aman and Adaa while they have escaped some terrorists and are spending the night in the Jungle, Adaa tells Aman than she has come too far (in her love for him) and that she cannot go back now, Aman quietly tells her that he will never let her go back even is she wants to!

The Climax is definitely a high point of the movie and is a reenactment of the Hazartbal Shrine hold-up that happened a few years back. The confrontation scene between Aman and Shakeel is brilliant and the final scene where Aman shoots at the head of the terrorist group is superb!

The pitfalls

The movie flows at a languorous pace and the first half is quite slow, but it is only for a short while, the movie picks-up pace when Aman and Adaa acknowledge their love and how the confrontation with society and family begins affecting them. The dialogues are excellent when they are funny and mocking, but begins sounding very trite when they slip into political overtones. The movie is pretty clichéd in some parts, especially when it comes to portraying the terrorist’s, but overall, the characterization in the movie is very good. Also, the main protagonist, Adaa’s character is a little confusing, she comes across as a very modern and happy-go-lucky person, considering that she is a Kashmiri Muslim living under the constant shadow of terror, it would have been more convincing, if she was shown to be slightly more introverted and hesitant.

Overall Analysis

Definitely one of the better movies I have seen this year, and I have seen almost 25 movies till now! I think Yahaan will be counted amongst one of the good movies of this year, whether it does well at the box-office or not and that is saying a lot, because 2005 has been a year of excellent movies such as Parineeta, Black and Paheli! I won’t say Yahaan is a must-watch, but you will surely not regret watching it at least once!