Anant Mahadevan
Bablu Chakraborty
Madhavan, Namrata Shirodhkar, Jimmy Shergill, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Sanjay Suri, Sonali Kulkarni, Rakesh Bapat, Bhavna Pani
T.V. actor-turned-director Anant Mahadevan deserves a pat on the back for taking us down memory lane, singing the legend R.D. Burman's oldie-goldie melodies. With the songs re-shot on today's actors, three love stories are woven together beautifully by Mahadevan.
The first pair is the husband and wife couple, Krish (Madhavan) & Raksha (Namrata Shirodhkar). With both struggling to be singers, opportunity points fingers towards Raksha. Soon, she makes it big. But in the process, Krish parts ways with her, due to ego problems.
Next, Hrithik (Jimmy Shergill), the son of a wealthy industrialist, falls for a local train damsel, Jojo (Hrishitaa Bhatt), who keeps a condition - that he should stand on his feet first, in order to marry her.
The third love story involves Dev Darshan Suri (Sanjay Suri), a widower, and Gauri (Sonali Kulkarni), his neighbour. Gauri's wheel-chaired brother Gaurav (Bapat, of 'Tum Bin' fame) is a genuine reason for them to meet and share Gaurav's grief. And that, in turn, brings Suri's sister Rachna (Bhavna) closer to Gaurav.
------
The 'grand-finale' singing competition-climax seals all the pairs' love stories. The director has handled the script well, giving the right amount of treatment, each couple deserves.
R. D. Burman's classics add flavour to the script, with the three lovelorn actors coming together to sing, "Rehne do Chodo, bhi Jaane do Yaar". You are forced to hum along with them.
Of the cast, Madhavan (a superstar down south, and struggling to make his mark in Bollywood), gets another chance to prove his mettle after 'RHTDM'. He puts in a sincere effort. Jimmy Shergill oozes confidence and that's a good sign. The third lead, Sanjay Suri has to improve on his expressions, as in some scenes, he is totally blank when he is supposed to display emotions.
As for the female brigade, Namrata Shirodhkar and Sonali Kulkarni are competent. But the one to benefit the most from this outing is Hrishitaa Bhatt. She's improved a lot from her 'Sharaarat' days, and should carefully choose her future projects.
VERDICT: Take time off over the weekend to watch it. You won't regret it.
