Sep 22, 2001 05:17 PM
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DCH is an appealing slice of modern, yet emotional mind set of the contemporary urban youngsters which captures attitude, fashion and music well enough.
It is a designer flick, kind of a modern day soap-opera packed with huge dollops of entertainment and deftly manipulated emotions of smartly dressed, sassy-looking happy slackers.
The considerable charm of the whole movie stems from a young cast and crew making a film about themselves! the characters are not portrayed as typical bollywood heros, macho and aggressive, instead they talk like normal and casual.
The movie is refreshingly different, no conservative parents bursting a blood vessel over status barriers, no time-worn clichés, no underprivileged people with staple dialogues like ‘uska dosh sirf itna hai key wo gharib hai! types. It certainly is a brat-pack of a film which tries to break the mould and explode the myth.
The plot revolves around three protagonists caught-up in the web spun by half-baked westernisation and hard-core Indian realities. The main strength of the film lies in the inter-relationship dynamics of the three friends and their( almost) coming of age.
I lovvved this movie as we friends relate to each of the characters and what we did in the best days of our lives! - Ooh yeah! The Goa trip, was particularly nostalgic.
Akshaye Khanna plays Sid, a complex and a mature character who understands the meaning of love. He is an evolved soul (!) at ease and peace with himself and with those around him. He strikes friendship with a depressed divorcee (Dimple). This relationship is a turning point in the film, as his friend (Akash) scoffs at their relationship and comments on its sexual undertones. Sid slaps Akash and the three friends find their own ways. Akshay infuses his role with a flourish, and almost right kind of expressions, raising his eyebrows, moving of the Jaw etc., to emote his expressions.
Saif Ali Khan, Oh! dear, dear! (Thank God, the Jodhpur deer incident is now behind him), is a riot as Sameer. He is always carefree, chasing every other girl and falling in love with them. Saif glitters through out the movie as a jolly yuppie and excels in the portraying a positively vibrant and a likable character.
Aamir Khan plays Akash, a casanova, oooh! that attitude! Aamir once again excels in portraying a fashionable stubble (sporting a new Keann Reeves look) and a cynical façade. But underneath this mocking and insensitive hard arse brat lies a very real person who is whatever he is, because of the circumstances!
The woman were given short shrift and play second fiddle . Dimple, playing a depressed divorcee trying to beat the system is a standout. Inspite of the weather-beaten features, she is still a lot of class and grace. She needs to however, take care of her teeth. They were horrible.
While Dimple portrays the embittered visage of a desolate woman, the dimpled-delight (deadly) Preity Zintaportrays the braided and bubbly Shalini. She is pretty, pouty with ‘I can do no wrong kind of a look; I simply lovvved her dynamite presence and effortless acting.
Honestly, DCH starts with a lot of promise, but it does not take long for its freshness to wear thin. The story has been streched unnecessarily in the second half. The love tale between Aamir and Preity suddenly descents into a routine squishy candy-floss potboiler, something that just doesn't add up. The Troilus and Cressida opera sequence where she explains what love is to Aamir was quite boring. The length and pace of the film also does not add up with the pulse of the young-adults that was being pushed in the film.
To sum up, DCH is almost an immaculate pep-pup, superbly scripted, stunningly cinematographed, brilliantly acted and delightfully picturised. The music is apt, right from the title track, Koi Rahen and Tanhayee to the snookingly picturised ‘Who Ladki hai Kahaah’.
Definitely worth a watch …….. especially if you are with your friends.
