Aitraaz (2004)

Memorable, crazy movie

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Although a little long, this turned out to be a delightful musical drama. Initially, this film starts out as a comedy with two young ladies of dissimilar talents getting their new job locations confused and winding up with the employment the other should have had. The comedy then shifts to romance which in turn becomes a musical. After the singing and dance die down it becomes a passionate drama. Now, although I am not a big fan of musicals I must confess that the songs and dance routines were superb and I enjoyed all of them. Likewise, the acting on the part of Akshay Kumar (as "Raj Malhotra"), the attractive Kareena Kapoor ("Priya Saxena") and Priyanka Chopra ("Mrs. Sonia Roy") was first-rate. I should also point out that Priyanka Chopra was incredibly beautiful having won both "Miss India" and "Miss World" in 2000. At any rate, I really enjoyed this film and I strongly recommend it for those who think they might be interested in something of this nature.

This film is long but quite enjoyable. There is perhaps one twist too many and some needless shenanigans towards the end could have been avoided. Still, its fairly absorbing. Priyanka excels as the sexy vamp and burns up the screen with her presence. Kareena is saddled with the straight role but does well. Paresh Rawal steals the show as an adept lawyer. Akshay Kumar is alright although he essentially plays the victim in the film. The plot is a variant on the Hollywood thriller Disclosure, but there's a lot of Indian spice including some catchy songs. Watchable.Overall 6/10

Coming from the celebrated directorial team of 'Baazigar' (*Shah Rukh Khan) and 'Soldier' (*Bobby Deol), this one merits watching. The plot outline of Barry Levinson's gripping 1994 drama 'Disclosure' (starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore) has been nicely Indianized. There is no question that it is a remake of that Hollywood production, although the latter had a second plot-twist that Aitraaz doesn't provide.Chances are that majority of the Indian audience may not have seen Disclosure and, therefor, will love Aitraaz. It is again proved conclusively that a good story-line and good storytelling are two absolute essentials in making a good film. Look at 'Ashoka' (starring Shah Rukh Khan). Lush photography, proved story-material, and what happens? Why does it bomb at the box office? Simply because such a gorgeous story wasn't told with consistency and well.It happens. A proved material may bomb on revision because of uninspired direction (example: Hitchcock's 1960 classic 'Psycho' remade in 1998 by Gus Van Sant). Sometimes the opposite happens: 2001 remake of 1960's 'Ocean's Eleven' actually eclipsed the original.See Aitraaz. The soundtrack is scintillating. The story is good. The direction is superb. Priyanka Chopra is exceptional. Kareena Kapoor is superb. Akshay Kumar is adequate. You'll like the film.

Mukta Arts and Abbas Mastan-this dhoti clad duo have unique angle to film making as they did with "Humraaz", which was one of the most entertaining films of the last decade. This duo have choreography style that is innovative and refreshing compared to the pot-boiler tasteless gyrating that is usually seen in Salman Khan movies. The music of Himmesh Reshmiya is always a distinguishing feature of their movies. There are two numbers that have his stamp. There are two actors that stand out-one is Paresh Rawal- this actor can turn a scene however short into a hilarity. As a prosecuting attorney Rawal is the Court-jester bringing the audience down with some of the best dialog in the movie. In fact A-M duo cleverly use this scene as their comedy interlude that is by tradition reserved for children of lesser talent like Shakti Kapoor, Johny lever and the clan. There have been seductive vixens and stunning looking actresses on the Indian cinema but Priyanka Chopra is an all in one. This Chopra girl who made an entry with "The Hero" never looked more gorgeous-this woman certainly has the skills with the killer looks. Akshay Kumar is acting, when you consider that the Indian audience is used to the overacting from the likes of SharRukh Khan. Kareena Kapoor is okay but she could have been more dramatic in the Court, instead of her parrot like dialog delivery. I enjoyed this movie considering the recent filth in the name of Cinema that has been coming out of the "Maximum City".