Yaadein (2001)
Starring: Jackie Shroff, Hrithik Roshan, Kareena Kapoor
Director: Subhash Ghai
Music Director: Anu Malik
Synopsis: all misguided, empty flair and pomp from the self-proclaimed showman
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Subhash Ghai, the self-proclaimed showman, the man who insists on doing a Hitchcock cameo in every one of his films; the man who can do no wrong…or so he would have you believe.

 I, for one, have never been enamoured of his films, though I have admired them as polished examples of bottling old wine in new bottles. The man has the touch; he knows what sells and how to blend familiar ingredients into one slick, successful package. As I said, the man who could do no wrong.

 Well, what do you get when you put together the most commercially successful Hindi film director of recent times with the hottest young stars of the new millennium, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, together with music by Anu Malik, riding high after a string of magnificent scores the previous year? Certainly not the film of the year. Instead, you get a film that fades from memory not long after the unfortunate experience of seeing this very disappointing fare.

 The film is a mess of surprisingly large proportions simply because you do not expect Subhash Ghai to make something so ordinary. Viewed on its own merits, it passes muster and is certainly better than much of the drivel that emerges from Bollywood. Nevertheless, *Yaadein* seems to suggest that Ghai is slowly but surely losing his touch.

 Jackie Shroff plays a recently widowed father of three grown-up daughters after a hit-and-run accident sends his wife to the heavens, leaving him with one final request: "Not just to be a father, but also a friend to his daughters." He soon marries off two of them, leaving the story to concentrate on Isha (Kareena Kapoor), the youngest and probably the most sensible of the three.

 Ronit (Hrithik Roshan) is virtually a member of the household, almost adopted by Jackie and his late wife, his own parents being far too busy to devote much attention to him.

 The story then moves to Malaysia, where romance blossoms between Isha and Ronit amidst cycle races and the occasional alligator running amok. Naturally, the path of true love cannot run smoothly, and Ronit finds himself destined to marry Monishka, a merger of two business empires rather than two hearts. Isha sacrifices her own happiness for the sake of her father, who, despite being a successful restaurateur and long-time family friend, simply does not measure up socially to Ronit's affluent family.

 One could continue recounting the increasingly laborious plot as it crawls towards its inevitable conclusion, but there is really very little point.

 The biggest problem with the film is that Ghai has failed to knit together a plot with any real cohesion or thematic purpose. The film begins with the potentially interesting relationship between a widowed father and his daughters, but this promising angle is barely explored, nor does Ghai inject any genuine emotional depth into it.

 Instead, he rather slops off into youthful romance, placing all the emphasis on Hrithik and Kareena. Unfortunately, their relationship develops more through songs and dance sequences than through convincing moments of romance or genuine charm. The romance itself is cliched to the extreme, and there is precious little passion or chemistry between the lead pair, a failing that rests squarely with the director.

 Song follows song until the film becomes increasingly tedious, particularly since the music is only of a fairly average standard and the picturisation lacks the novelty and imagination that once distinguished Ghai's work.

 What a waste.

 There is simply no depth here. The characters are wafer-thin and seem almost like leftovers who have wandered across from “Pardes” and “Taal”. Ghai has always been a stylish filmmaker, and there is certainly style on display here as well. However, he also used to grip his audience with his storytelling, even in his crassest commercial ventures.

 “Ram Lakhan” immediately comes to mind: a thoroughly familiar, run-of-the-mill story that had been seen countless times before, yet one presented with tremendous energy and style. Even “Pardes” possessed a sense of purpose and narrative drive. *Taal* was itself a fairly ordinary film, rescued largely by its excellent music and several decent performances, even if it occasionally outstayed its welcome.

 “Yaadein”, by contrast, suggests that Ghai has indeed lost much of the magic that once made him such a reliable entertainer.

 Jackie Shroff makes an impression of sorts, though little else remains in the memory. Hrithik Roshan has a surprisingly pedestrian role that demands very little of him, and while he performs it competently enough, he leaves little lasting impression. Kareena is perfectly adequate but similarly fails to leave much of an impact. She shone far more brightly in “Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai”, as indeed did Anu Malik.

 Malik's score is passable rather than memorable, with the title track and "Eli Re Eli" standing out as the better efforts. Sadly, even the picturisation of the songs—traditionally one of Ghai's greatest strengths—is unexpectedly disappointing.

 Ultimately, the only reason “Yaadein” is likely to be remembered is because it proved to be such a disappointment.