Fiza (2000)

You won't be disappointed!

Sadly Over-hyped

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This movie was really good and a powerful movie.The first half was terrific.It was about a girl who lost her brother in th 1993 riots she asks every body.Then later see shes her brother he is a terrorist.The story line was really strong.Khalid Mohammeds story telling is superb for no doubt.Dialogs are good.The visuals are breath taking.Cinematography is good.I liked the theme as well and liked how it was presented.It had a gripping story line.It was a very realistic and almost an heart warming movieActing is first rate.Hrithik Roshan has done a good job in an interesting role.Having like him from this to Koi Mil Gaya he is surely a treat.Why not his looks.He proves that he can look good and act dramatically at the same time too.Jaya also performed good too.Her expressions feeling thoughts were amazing especially when she finds her sons true colors.Manoj Bajpai is Good too in a brief role.The life of this movie is Karishma Kapoor she has given a marvelous performance in a power packed role a well deserved award.She bring life into her character.She is able to portray her emotions convincingly.Isha Koppikar gets no scope.Songs are good especially Piya Haiji Ali which is beautifully composed.And not to forget the visuals were stunning.Direction is really good.Dialogs are all powerful and emotional.Characetrisations are powerful.Ending was sad through.It was a very different movie.Although the second half was not as good as the first one but was still great.All,i can say is this was the best movie of 2000.Highjly recommended

First time director Khalid Mohammed, who is a respected film critic, dons on a new cap and displays to Indian cinema what can be achieved visually in a film, and how a plot can take its audience to high expectations. This newly developed plot, with characteristics and representations that is very much three dimensional and anti-stereotype, commends the director for his skills as a film-maker.Its very rare to find an woman, displayed on the moving canvas, as independent, strong and intelligent. Films like Mother India (1965), Bandit Queen (1996), Roja (1993), Hazzar Churasi Ki Maa (1998) and The Terrorist (1998/1999) are examples and the movie Fiza (2000) joins such list. Here the main character called Fiza, played wonderfully by Karishma Kapoor, is seen as such. Fiza is a woman presented in a material world that profits from politics and religion, a male dominated environment. Fiza, which means seasons, goes out in a dangerous world to find her brother, who is in contrast to Fiza as we soon learn.Amman, played convincingly by the talented Hrithik Roshan, is seen as rather weak willed, easy to command over and psychologically unbalanced while finding his own identity. Even though he is built as a strong man through his physicality, his inner strength is weak and Fiza knows this. This forms part of the reason for his search when she leans that he is has associated with a terrorist group and the justification for this is rather strong. It also shows that man is not as perfect as they think to be and really brings out a new representation of them in this Indian film.The characteristic of the mother, played by the wonderful theatrical actor Jaya Bachchan, is also similar to Fiza which has been fully developed making audiences emotionally bonded with her. This is due to her growing up in the times of post independence when women were considered to be below the male species in India. Living throughout two generations she carries both ideologies of the past and present seen through her own eyes. While respecting her religion very thoroughly, she is seen to be very close to her children and loves them dearly. This adds another reason why Fiza needs to find her brother, to make sure that her mother remains strong like her and that her believes that her son is still alive is true.Yet when she sees the real colors of her son, she is dismayed and admits defeat. Sadly she commits suicide as a result. Many audience found this to be rather 'Indian cinema'. Yet to me it makes sense why the director took this path. She is a product of the past, and of faith. When she realizes that her faith of bringing Amman had failed in her eyes, she cannot face herself and as a result dies. If Fiza had a son, like Amman and the same circumstances happened in the future then Fiza would be able to cope with this as society is much more open then it was when Nishatbi was growing up. Clearly the director has thought-out the characters past, present and future rather wonderfully and intelligent audience who capture this understand engage in the film more deeply then what the film offers us on the surface.There are moments when the film does play on stereotypes with the ministers, leaders, hit men and media, and this could have been improved upon. Yet these Indian cinema conventions manage to work within this screenplay as it is very brief and never dwelled upon. Other minor disappointments with the movie is the way songs come into the narrative structure making this film seem more apt-able for commercial cinema audiences. Dances, glamor and overly high modern songs seen in this film don't agree with the overall narrative jarring the viewing senses and prolonging time. The song only applicable for the film would be 'Piya Haji Ali', beautifully composed by A.R. Rahman, and the song 'Mere Watan' composed by Ranjit Barot as they help with the film's screenplay.Now that I have talked about the content of the film lets ponder over the technical values, all of which are breathtaking. Cinematography by Santosh Sivan is excellent throughout capturing the images and light effects with perfection, while art design work is also very realistic and helps with the overall look of the film. Editing is also rather good and manages to blend the scenes rather well never deviating from the core matter, just wish those useless songs were edited out.The film is an interesting concept from the new director and displays that his future work will be something all audiences will view with high expectations. But the director must move away from the 20 year old conventions we have seen in all of Indian films, in order to achieve something properly intellectual. Still Fiza is a good movie with brilliant characters, acting and technical credits.

I was completely blown away by this movie. The acting, direction, cinematography and music are all superb! The entire experience is totally gripping and overwhelmingly powerful. Various camera shots remind me of the great Eisenstein films. This is the first film I've seen of Khalid Muhamed. His genius is staggering. I then viewed Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and am dumfounded that it swept so many (any??) awards! It is like a shallow cartoon when compared with Fiza. It boggles my mind that Kaho could have won awards in any category where it might compete with Fiza. This is the best film I have seen in a LONG time. Must see. Don't miss it! Buy it! Watch it over and over......it is a true work of art and devotion. How786

Although still had a taste of Indian commercial films, Fiza was a different kind of movie. The story line and direction were good and the actings were super.Herithik is obviously made for films. His look and talent is all what is needed to become a movie star. It's amazing that despite being his second film, he perform so powerfully. Unlike Shah Rukh, whose acting is artificial (one can tell he is perforimg for the camera), Herithik performnce is very natural. Shah Rukh has lost the rank.Krishma did a great job and Jeya bachchan showed she has the ability to perform, and perform so powerfully.Fiza has its flaws. A lot of things are unclear, it still has unneeded scenes and songs.It also had flaws like most indian flims