Mann (1999)
Starring: Aamir Khan, Manisha Koirala, Sharmila Tagore
Director: Indra Kumar
Synopsis: Misguided attempt at a lightweight, sensitive love story.....a dud.
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Mann arrived after Indra Kumar had delivered four massive commercial successes—Dil, Beta, Raja and Ishq. None of those films was renowned for subtlety or artistic refinement, but all managed to strike a chord with audiences and rake in millions at the box office.

Mann was clearly intended to be Kumar's attempt at winning over the critics by making what was billed as a "sensitive love story". Somewhere along the way, however, things went very badly wrong. Perhaps lacking the conviction to trust the material, Kumar turns Mann into an ungainly hotchpotch of broad comedy, heavy-handed melodrama and sentiment so unsubtle that it lands with all the grace of a sledgehammer. The result is a complete misfire.

Supposedly based on Love Affair, this should have been one of the easier Hollywood romances to adapt and Indianise. Instead, Kumar buries the central love story beneath endless cheap comedy, scenes of exaggerated emotion and a plot that simply plods on and on without ever finding any real momentum.

Aamir Khan plays a carefree playboy who boards a luxury cruise to visit his grandmother, who appears to live somewhere in the middle of the ocean! During the voyage, he meets Manisha Koirala, a simple young woman who has won some rather crass competition in Singapore. Naturally, the two fall in love.

Upon arriving at good old Daadi Maa's house, grandmother promptly informs Manisha that Aamir isn't really a bad boy after all—just in case she happened to be wondering.

The cruise eventually comes to an end and, despite both already being committed to other people, the lovers agree that Aamir must first make something of his life before they meet again at an appointed place on an appointed day. Fate smiles kindly upon our hero, and he soon establishes himself as a successful painter. As the long-awaited reunion approaches, both eagerly anticipate seeing one another again. Even Manisha's devoted benefactor, played by Anil Kapoor, graciously steps aside and encourages her to pursue the man she truly loves.

But tragedy strikes. Manisha is involved in an accident and is unable to reach their rendezvous.

From that point onwards, the film degenerates into a seemingly endless procession of misunderstandings before finally grinding to an abrupt halt. For the audience, however, that conclusion comes as something of a relief.

The strange thing about Mann is that it is not nearly as dreadful as I may be making it sound. I have always admired Aamir Khan and generally expect films bearing his name to offer something worthwhile. Unfortunately, he is merely an actor and can only work with the material he is given. He is not entirely convincing as the rakish playboy in the opening portions, while virtually every romantic scene between him and Manisha is clumsily staged. Where a sensitive touch was required, Kumar resorts instead to people falling over one another, accidental embraces, towel scenes and every other hackneyed romantic device in the Bollywood handbook.

There is scarcely any genuine charm to the romance at all.

Ironically, Aamir becomes much more effective once his character begins to mature and genuinely understands the depth of Manisha's feelings. Those quieter moments hint at the film that Mann might have become in more capable hands. Manisha Koirala, however, never really finds the right note. Rather than conveying quiet vulnerability, she often comes across as shrill and overly melodramatic.

Sharmila Tagore fares even worse. Cast as Daadi Maa, she is hopelessly miscast and feels entirely out of place. The character contributes little to the narrative and is burdened with a solo song of her own before making the extraordinary decision to appear in a dream sequence during yet another musical number. Quite honestly, much of this portion could have been removed without the film suffering in the slightest.

What saddens me most is the colossal waste of potential. There was the basis of a genuinely touching romance buried somewhere within this material, but it has been squandered by a director seemingly unable to trust either his story or his audience.

The music, thankfully, is a considerable saving grace. The title song became deservedly popular, although it is disappointingly picturised. The real highlights of the soundtrack are Nasha Yeh Pyar Ka Nasha Hai, Kehna Hai and Tinak Tin Tana. Sanjeev-Darshan make an impressive debut, even if some of their melodies owe rather more than a passing debt to foreign compositions.