Saawan - The Love Season

Saawan - The Love Season
2006
2/5 stars


Raj (Kapil Jhaveri) and Kajal (Saloni Aswani) meet on vacation in Capetown, and fall in love.  When they return to Mumbai, Kajal is saved from an accident by an unnamed reluctant prophet (Salman Khan), who then predicts her death.

(Johnny Lever also stars, as Raj's friend, Funsukh.)

This film is terrible.  The first half, when Raj and Kajal meet and fall in love, is tedious, banal, poorly written, and just as badly acted.  Even the excellent Lever couldn't save this portion of the film, as his jokes were weak and generally not funny.  The music, while not fully terrible, was certainly not good.

The story becomes much more interesting once Khan's character is introduced.  He portrays the agonized seer well, and if the focus had been on his character, it could have been interesting and emotional.  With the focus elsewhere, though, one good performance from Khan was not enough to make this movie even tolerable.

(Personal note: I finished watching it out of curiosity to see just how awful it would get.)

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic

Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
(translation: A Little Love, A Little Magic)
2008
4/5 stars

Ranbeer (Saif Ali Khan), a recalcitrant workaholic, kills a couple in a car accident.  The judge gives the unusual ruling that the four children left orphaned by the accident are to live with him.  All five are miserable and pray for help.  God (Rishi Kapoor) hears their pleas and sends his favorite angel, Geeta (Rani Mukerji), to help them become a family.

This is a sweet movie that, with the exception of one song, is oriented to family viewers, and gives uplifting messages about loss, prayer, and God.  Khan is perfect for the role, gradually going from gruff and brooding to open and loving.  He and Mukerji have good chemistry.  She is her usual perky, cheerful self, and makes a delightful angel.  Kapoor is excellent in his minor role.  The children play their parts well.  The music is average, with very little choreography.  Overall, this film, while not perfect, is certainly a pleasure.   

Mukerji and Kapoor

Suryavanshi

Suryavanshi 
1992
4/5 stars

The wicked princess Suryalekha (Amrita Singh) falls in love with the one man who is able to defeat her champions. This man, Suryavanshi Vikram Singh (Salman Khan) deceives her, then leaves her in disgrace. Incensed, she kills herself and her ghostly self torments the area as she waits for Suryavanshi to be reborn and return to her.

Hundreds of years later, an archaeologist uncovers part of Suryalekha's palace. His team, including his daughter Sonia (Sheeba) and son-in-law Vicky (Salman Khan), visit the palace grounds. Suryalekha's spirit is convinced that Vicky is Suryavanshi reincarnated and calls to him. It is left to Sonia to overcome the evil with her love and protect her husband.

This is, at times, a silly movie, and sometimes overly dramatic. That said, it's still an enjoyable tale, full of action, romance, the supernatural, and music. There is much more to the plot that can be explained in a brief synopsis, and the romance was a good story. Singh was fantastic as the beautiful and evil Suryalekha, and Sheeba's portrayal of the opposing pure and lovely Sonia was equally good. Both of Khan's characters were less than three-dimensional, but still appealing. The most unfortunate aspect of the entire movie was the light brown hair/beard of Suryavanshi, which looked simply goofy on Khan. The music and choreography were good, as were the costumes for these numbers. Overall, while bordering on the ridiculous in parts, it was an entertaining movie and a good example of the Bollywood of the 1990s.

Movie available on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/sh1wwILGvp0

Chandra Mukhi

Chandra Mukhi
(translates as "moon-faced beauty")
1993
3/5 stars

The lovely Sridevi plays Chandramukhi, a princess from another planet. She has fallen to Earth, and during that fall lost her magical-power-granting leaf. She meets Raja, a boy of around 10, who is being abused by his step-uncle. To help Raja, she uses the remains of her powers to age him so that he can defend himself. After this, she and the adult Raja (Salman Khan), go on an adventure to find her leaf.

This is a truly silly fantasy flick, but mostly enjoyable nonetheless. While the songs are average, the choreography is good and Sridevi is truly a fine dancer. Khan's part is odd in that, at times Raja seems to have matured as he aged (particularly when wooing Chandramuhki), and at others seems to still have the mentality of a child. This made the romancing feel a bit awkward, but nonetheless, Khan and Sridevi had good chemistry. Khan was charming, but overacted at times. On the whole, it is an absurd plot, but one can't help but like it anyway.

(movie not currently available)

God Tussi Great Ho

God Tussi Great Ho
(translates as "God You are great")
2008
4/5 stars

In this romantic-comedy/fantasy, AP (Salman Khan) is in a rut of bad luck, and he loudly blames God (Amitabh Bachchan). God decides to let AP be God for 10 days, but it doesn't turn out as AP expected.

God Tussi Great Ho is a delightful movie, full of humor and charm, with an inspiring message as the final result. The musical numbers were not impressive, but the script was cute, and Khan's performance spot-on as usual. Don't let the negative reviews influence you; this one is worth watching.

Cast also includes Priyanka Chopra and Sohail Khan.