Kiss and Tale !!. Review on Khwahish - Bollywood

KHWAHISH

CREW MEMBERS

Directed by : Govind Menon

Playback Singers : Asha Bhosle, KK, Udit Narayan

CAST

Himanshu Malik : ''Amar Ranawat''

Mahamud Babai : ''Ulhas'' (Lekha's father)

GENRE

Drama / Romance / Musical

TAGLINE

A love story about two people who have nothing in common.

PLOT SUMMARY

A story about a relationship that's ended. ''Khwahish'' traces the sexy, funny and intense relationship of two youngsters from the time they meet in the last semester of college, their quirky romance, marriage and its ups and downs, to the tragic end five years later. Probably, the first Bollywood musical about the trials and tribulations of a young Indian urban couple.

MY COMMENTS AND OPINIONS

Dear fellow MS friends,

Do not wish to reveal the plot in detail. Just a brief write-up and comments on the latest off-track film from the stable of the ever entertaining ''Bollywood'' film industry.

''Khwahish'' seems to be a film for the new generation. Quite away from the stereotype love and action Bollywood films, ''Khwahish'' tries to touch the feelings of the young Urban Indian. It is all about loving, living and losing.

Since Dad's a chicken farmer, hot chic Lekha Khorzuvekar keeps insisting she's ''gareeb''. Never mind if her clothes reflect the latest fashion trends and her music collection includes almost every R D Burman song.

Like many ''gareeb'' gals in Hindi movies, Lekha Khorzuvekar (Mallika Sherawat) falls for ''ameer'' guy Amar Ranawat (Himanshu Malik). And from the moment they meet in Govind Menon's ''Khwahish'', you're forced to sit through a tale that takes you through the initial phase of love, the guy's desire for pre-marital sex and post-marriage blues. If there's a twist in the second half, it instantly reminds you of Erich Segal's ''Love Story'' or our very own ''Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se''. So much for originality !!

Though the story had enough potential, the film drags on and on. The only point of interest -- after all those steamy promos -- is whether Mallika is sensuous enough. Well, she does have appeal, thanks mainly to those cleavage-revealing and navel-popping tops. But if you're expecting someone in the league of Zeenat Aman or Parveen Babi -- sorry !!

Anyway, Lekha bumps into Amar at a garment store, where she only wants the kurta of a particular set, and Amar only needs the pyjama. Lord ! As they keep haggling over the price, they get attracted to each other. And before you can close your eyes, they close theirs and start kissing. The passion keeps increasing, even though she continues to call him Sethji forever. On your marks, get ''seth'', go !!

The two are opposites, actually. Besides being an R D Burman and Hariprasad Chaurasia fan, Lekha is a wannabe singer rendering raag Malkauns to bored audiences. She's pretty bold too -- while Amar feels shy to order condoms from the medical store, Lekha asks for them as though she's ordering bread.

There's another difference. Lekha is so pal-ly with her Dad (Mahamud Babai) that she keeps calling him Ulhas. In contrast, Amar is an adventure-loving type who resents his father (Shivaji Satam) so much that he calls him ''Sir''. While ''Sir'' disowns his son, Ulhas keeps taking Amar to the bathroom to guzzle liquor in a bath-mug. Such loo-nacy !!

Post-interval, you're subjected to the couple's incompatibility. While they try to sort out their hassles, the story takes the ''Love Story'' turn. Sadly, instead of moving you, the melodrama makes you uneasy.

In all this boredom, Milind Sagar's music stands out, with Asha Bhosle singing some melodic songs. Uday Devare's cinematography is appealing in the outdoor locales. Shashi Wadia's dialogues are blunt, using English words like ''naked,'' ''horny'' and ''boob''. Anand Subaya's editing could have been tighter.

Among the performers, Babai could be the perfect guide to overacting. Himanshu looks good, but his dialogue delivery makes you cry and his emotional scenes make you laugh. Mallika seems over-enthusiastic in the initial scenes, but gets more comfortable as the film progresses. For her, its a neat-enough debut, though Khwahish leaves much to be desired.